Time Heals all Wounds
by Speklez
Summary: Tragedy introduced them, common ground brought them closer, and heartbreaking circumstances will tie them together. A/U A/H OOC and all that fun stuff. Normal disclaimers apply.
1. Chapter 1

Caius stood in the doorway to his niece's rooms, watching as she did nothing but sit on her balcony, a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, staring off into the distant hills of the countryside. She had arrived in Volterra the morning before and hadn't been seen since she walked through the doors. She was devastated, mourning the loss of both her parents and no one had the heart - or the balls - to interrupt her.

Sighing lightly as the time grew older, Caius pushed himself off the door frame and moved across the floor to the open balcony doors and turned to lean on the railing, crossing his arms and ankles, taking in her position in her chair. She had her feet pulled up on the seat with her arms draped over her spread knees, head dropped down and bobbing every few seconds as she cried.

After a few minutes of standing there, Caius sighed a little. "You really should consider coming down, Stella."

Isabella sniffled and shook her head a little. "I don't want to." Picking her head up, she looked at her uncle, her normally bright emerald eyes the darker color jade in her sorrow. Swallowing hard and taking a shuddering breath, "It'll make it real. I don't want this to be real."

Caius nodded a little to her, tilting his head to the side., "Your mother said the same thing to me, in that same chair, when your grandparents died. She didn't want that to be real either. I will tell you the same thing I told her all those years ago and you will probably not like it any more than she did. I understand that you don't want to say goodbye, but if you do not, you will hate yourself for it later."

Sniffling a little, Isabella nodded. "You're right, I don't like it." She sighed and stubbed out her cigarette. Standing up and turning to the entrance back into her rooms, she looked over her shoulder. "Give me a few minutes."

Caius nodded a little, "Take your time, Stella."

Ten minutes later, attired in a long black dress, short birdcage veil, elbow length gloves and tiara, Isabella emerged from her dressing room and looked to her uncle, "I still don't want to go."

Nodding to her and presenting her his arm, Caius smiled a little, "You needn't stay long, Stella. No one will expect you too."

*X*

After the announcement of the arrival of the princess, the attendants of the wake turned to the doors. Her other two uncles standing from their seats, had sorrowful yet understanding looks on their faces at her tardiness.

Aro, the eldest of the royal line, clasped his hands behind his back, "How do think he convinced her to come down?"

Marcus looked over to his older brother and shook his head, "He's her favorite, you know that. He is probably the only one that could have accomplished the impossible and talk her into it."

The two of them fell silent as the doors were opened and their niece and youngest brother walked in. They watched as she nodded in recognition of the condolences being offered but said nothing in return.

For Isabella, this was a slow torture, listening to the throngs of 'mourners' share their sorrow over the passing of her parents. Every one was worse than the last because there was not a single one amongst them who actually meant it. Her mother had left Italy shortly after her grandparents died twenty one years ago and had only returned once a year for the annual ball held in their honor. There were only a handful of people present that had even MET her father so how they were truly sorry to hear he was gone was a mystery to her.

When her mother left Italy, she had gone to America to give herself time to grieve without a constant parade of false empathy for her. That was where she met and fell in love with Charlie. They were married a short eleven months later in a small, intimate ceremony on the bank of a lake on a beautiful spring afternoon, attended by only twenty-five others. Her uncles and two others were the only Italians that had received invitations.

They honeymooned in Rio for two weeks. A month later, they had discovered they were going to be parents. Her uncles and the two at the wedding were the only ones told so imagine the shock that rocked the citizens when the princess, her new husband and newborn baby were at the Honorary Ball that year.

Isabella's parents had been on their way to lunch when an SUV ran a stop sign, t-boning the driver's side and killing her father on impact. Her mother had hung on for a few minutes more, but was also gone by the time the ambulance had arrived. Isabella had been in class when she got the call from the hospital about the accident, the news making her heart stop a moment before she screamed. She called her uncle Aro, not able to be the one to identify the bodies.

When all three of her uncles arrived the next morning, Isabella was still at the hospital, unable to leave her parents even as she was incapable of actually seeing them one last time. She stayed with Caius when Aro and Marcus went to the morgue to identify and sign for release of the bodies. Since her mother was a member of the royal family and her father was an only child himself with his parents also gone, it was decided to keep them together and bury both in Italy. Aro had arranged for four of their closest friends to attend the funeral, paying for their flights and accommodating them within the palace during their stay.

Her parents had been married for twenty happy years and there wasn't a single mother fucker present that could tell her what her father's name was.

By the time she got to her other two uncles, Isabella felt sick to her stomach, all the insincere words giving her indigestion. Lifting her eyes to Aro, she trembled a little before launching herself into his waiting arms, fisting his jacket and burying her face his chest, soaking up the warmth and comfort when his arms clasped tightly around her shoulders.

Aro held his niece for a few minutes, letting her cry before gently pushing her back and cupping her face in both hands, wiping her tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. Giving her a small smile, "you do not have to stay long, Stella. Only about a half an hour until the toast is done."

When she nodded to him, she was released. Giving her uncles a small smile, she turned and strolled away, out onto the balcony and away from anyone that might actually try and talk to her. Moving off to the side, she leaned on the railing and dropped her head a little before sniffling again. Bending down and lifting the hem of her dress, she pulled her cigarette case out of the little holster around her calf.

It wasn't until she opened it that she realized that she forgot to put her lighter in it. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she groaned, "God damnit." Sighing hard, she looked up and saw a group of others about her age coming out on the balcony as well, her eyes locking on the lighter one of them pulled from inside his suit jacket.

Dropping her head back on her shoulders and blowing a raspberry, she sighed before pushing herself off the railing and walking over to the group. As he was so tall compared to her, Isabella reached over and lightly tapped the man with the lighter on his bicep. "Excuse me."

When Demetri felt a tap on his arm, he turned his head to see who it was only to choke on the smoke in his throat at the sight of the princess standing there. Clearing his throat a little, he turned towards her, "Your Highness."

Isabella just gave him a little smile, "May I borrow your lighter, please? I forgot mine upstairs."

Nodding, he reached back into his pocket and pulled out the requested item, "Of course."

Taking the offering with a grateful smile, she lit her cigarette and handed it back, "Thanks."

Demetri nodded once and watched as she turned and began walking away. When she made it about ten feet, he called out to her, "Your highness." She stopped and turned halfway back with her head tilted in question. He smiled softly at her, "My truest condolences on your loss, My Lady. I lost my parents a few years ago so I know well what you are going through. I know it's hard now and I know it will be for some time to come yet, but I promise it does eventually get better. It never completely fades or goes away, but it does get easier."

Isabella licked her lips a little as she looked to the sky, blinking her eyes free of tears before swallowing the lump in her throat and looking back at him, "You know, that is probably the most honest thing I have heard since I arrived. Thank you for that, Mr..."

Demetri bowed his head a little, "De Luca. Demetri De Luca, Your Highness."

Nodding to him again, "Mr. De Luca. Circumstances what they are, enjoy your evenings." With a slight dip of her knees, Isabella turned away and continued her way back to her dark little corner of the balcony, wanting to be alone for the last remaining time she could pretend her parents were still with her before she was called back to reality once again.

Twenty minutes later Caius came to do just that. With a heavy heart, she walked over to her uncle, taking his offered arm and allowing him to lead her inside. As they were passing the threshold, she saw Demetri and his group of friends just off to the side. Biting her lip a little, she pulled her uncle to a stop and called out, "Demetri." When he looked at her, she gave him a little smile, "My belated condolences to you as well. You give me hope that someday I might actually be alright as well."

Demetri gave her a sad little smile, "It only comes with time, My Lady. Be it a little or alot, time heals all wounds."

Taking a deep breath through her nose and letting it out slowly, she nodded to him and walked away with her uncle up to the dais where Aro and Marcus awaited her and Caius. Standing next to Aro, she waited as he said a few words of introduction before her speech.

Isabella withdrew a piece of paper from her glove and unfolded it, looking at it for a second before lifting her eyes to the crowd. She felt her gut begin to bubble with rage at the fake as fuck sadness she was seeing, she crumpled her speech in her hand before dropping it on the floor.

Swallowing hard, she lifted her head high and spoke clear as day, "I had a lovely little speech prepared, full of wonderful things to lift your hearts and lessen your sadness. Then I thought about it and I realized that there is not a single person amongst you that really gives a fuck about the death of my parents. So since there is no need for me to ease the burden of your loss, I'll make this short: enjoy the food because that is all any of you bastards are here for anyways." Turning to Caius, who was pressing his lips together to keep from laughing at the wave of shock his niece just created, she took his glass of champagne and held it up to the room, "To shrimp cocktail on someone else's dime."

Drinking the whole glass in one go, Isabella walked down the steps of the dais, set the empty glass on a passing server's tray and strolled out of the room and down the steps into the rose garden.

Demetri watched her leave, his eyes following her until she was out of the light of the ballroom. Slipping away unseen, he bounded down the steps, following the sounds of whimpers and sniffles to the center of the short hedge maze where he found the princess standing with her back to him and her head bowed. Walking up behind her and pulling the kerchief from the front pocket of his suit jacket, he cleared his throat to catch her attention, holding it out to her when she turned.

Looking at him for a moment, she took the offering, pressing it to her eyes for a moment before sighing hard, dropping her arms and wringing the cloth in her hands. Swallowing her next sob and choking on it, she took in a ragged breath, her shoulders shaking as she looked at him. Her every word when she spoke was full of heartbreak, "How... How did you handle this?"

Demetri looked up at the stars a moment and clicked his tongue before he looked back at her, clasping his hands behind his back, "I drank. When I said I knew what you were going though, I meant it. I was about two year younger than you when my parents passed in much the same fashion as yours. For me, as I am sure it is for you, it was the suddenness in which it happened. The helplessness of not being able to do anything. The self loathing for not being there. The anger at the son of a bitch that took them away in the first place. Now, on top of all that, you have the added issues of the masses who say they know and understand when there is no way they could without first being here. I won't lie, My Lady. For that, I do not envy you."

Whimpering again, Isabella turned around, shaking her head a little before moving over to a bench and sitting down. Once again pulling her cigarette case from her calf, she pulled one out and she turned back to Demetri, "May I borrow your lighter again?"

Pulling it out of his inner pocket, Demetri went over and crouched in front of her, lighting her cigarette for her. Dipping his head to catch her eyes, "I also meant what I said about it getting easier. My parents died almost five years ago and I miss them everyday but I can now look back on the memories and feel the emotions I'm meant to feel and not the crippling heartache that I once did. I swear to you, it WIll get better. It just takes time."

Isabella took a shaky hit from her cigarette, blowing the smoke out through her nose before setting her forehead on Demetri's chest and whispering, "I just feel so alone."

Demetri laid his hand on the base of her skull, gently rubbing her neck with his thumb as he looked down at the top of her head, "I know, My Lady. I know."

A few yards away, the scene was being observed by both Aro and Caius. Looking at each other, they simply nodded, turned around and walked away. They had personally known Demetri since he was a child and knew perfectly well that he had no ulterior motives when it came to comforting their niece other than an understanding shoulder to cry on and the benefit of his own unfortunate personal experience in the matter. Had it been anyone other than Demetri or a very select few others they had found with her, it would have been a different matter entirely.

When they returned back inside, Marcus looked at them in confusion, "Where is Isabella?"

Aro sat on his throne and settled back before looking over at him, "She is in the gardens with young Master De Luca. He was doing well enough on his own calming her down. We saw no need to interfere. Besides, perhaps speaking with someone closer to her own age might allow her to move forward in the grieving process."

Marcus nodded a little at that. He very well remembered when the De Lucas died and the resulting aftermath. Demetri turned seventeen a month before the accident that took his parents. Although if you were to ask certain people, the death of the De Lucas was no accident. Demetri had spent a great deal of time drunk in the months that followed because he was to have been on the plane when it crashed but had been detained at school. He had also felt partially responsible because he told them to go ahead without him when they offered to wait the few days for him to finish his project.

Nearly five very long and grueling years later, Demetri had turned into a very respectable young gentleman. It took him nearly a year to break the surface of the crashing waves of loss and begin to rebuild himself. When he turned eighteen he reclaimed his father's company from Aro who had overseen it until such time as Demetri felt up to the task. Now, four years after he took back over what he father had started, he was the owner of the most profitable import/export company in the country.

If there was anyone better suited to aid Isabella past this part of her pain and heartache, Marcus couldn't think who that might be.

*X*

Outside, Isabella's body rocking sobs had slowed and settled out into hiccups and whimpers but she still didn't pull away from the comforting hold she was in.

Demetri had only switched how he was positioned, from crouching to kneeling on one knee, but never stopped rubbing the back of the princess' neck as she settled slightly, whispering quiet words of comfort in her ear. It was maybe twenty minutes later that his phone rang.

Still not stopping what he was doing or moving more than needed, he maneuvered it out of his inner jacket pocket and flipped it open without looking at the screen, "Demetri De Luca."

" _Hey man, where ya at?"_

Demetri rolled his eyes a little, "In the gardens with the Lady Majesty. What do you want, Felix?"

There was a little noise of apology that came through the line, " _sorry, Dem. The twins are talking about heading out and going to the bar next to the hotel. Didn't want to bounce without letting you know what was going on."_

Nodding a little, Demetri looked down for a moment, "go ahead and I'll catch up with you later."

When she heard that, Isabella finally pulled back, wiping her cheeks off and shaking her head at him, "you don't need to stay. Besides, I should probably get back inside anyways and face the music over the scene I made."

Demetri pulled his phone from his ear and cocked his head a little, "you made a scene? I certainly don't remember that. I recall you telling it as it was, something that is actually most admirable." Then he paused a little and hummed in his throat, "would you like to come out with us, You Highness?"

Eyes going wide, Isabella licked her lips a little, "I don't know. I would have to ask my uncles and I'm probably in trouble."

Smirking a little, Demetri pulled her to her feet, putting his phone back to his ear, "I'll be in a moment. Tell the twins to wait a few minutes."

" _You got it, Dem."_

After hanging up and putting his phone away, Demetri looked back at the princess, "I highly doubt they are cross with you, My Lady. Your anger is understandable and should have been expected." Setting a hand on the small of her back, he gave her a little push towards the steps to the balcony. Walking with her when she started moving, he looked down at her with a small smile, "besides, hanging out here is only going to cause you to lose that temper of yours again because the masses will only wish to continue to offer you false words of both sorrow and apology." Stopping once he was inline with his friends, he cocked a little brow at her, "let me know what they decide."

Swallowing hard, Isabella took and deep breath and nodded, turning to her uncles and, still wringing Demetri's kerchief in her hands that she had forgotten she still had, made her way across the room to the dais.

Aro and his brothers watched their niece come in and have a parting word with Demetri, small smiles on their faces when she seemed to have calmed down substantially. As she made her way over to them, they saw her pause and glance over her shoulder back at the Young Master De Luca and him give her a little nod before turning back to them and continuing her way.

Once she climbed the three steps to the top of the dais, Isabella bit her lip a little before looking at her Uncle Aro, "Um, Demetri asked me if I wanted to go out with him and his friends for a little while. Um, would you mind if I did?"

Aro set his chin on the back of his fingers and smiled at her a little, "would you like to, Stella?" When she nodded once to him, he thought about it a moment before nodding back, "then I would suggest you go change. On your way back down, stop by my office and take some money out of my top desk drawer for the night."

Smiling a little, "how much can I take?"

Aro shrugged, "it doesn't matter. However much you grab is fine. Have fun, Stella."

Giving him the first real smile he had seen on her since she arrived, Isabella bent down and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug for a moment, pulling back after he patted her on the back. Biting her lip and looking a little sheepish, "I'm sorry about the scene earlier, Uncle Aro."

Giving her a confused look, Aro cocked his head, "you made a scene? I must not have been paying attention." Then he shrugged a little, "ah, well, I cannot get upset over what I didn't see." Waving a hand at her, "now, off you go."

Smiling a little wider, Isabella turned and bounded down the steps and walked out of the ballroom with her head held high.

Once she was gone, Aro looked across the room at Demetri, lifting his arm and crooked a finger at him. Waiting a moment for him to present himself, Aro tisked a little before locking eyes, "I am holding you completely responsible for my niece's safety, Demetri. Do not, for one moment, let her out of your sight. If anything happens to her while in your care, I don't rightly give a damn how far back our families go, I will have your head."

Demetri simply bowed a little, "I would expect nothing less, My Lord." Looking back up at him, "what time should I have her returned?"

Aro shook his head, "so long as she returns safe, I don't care. She is an adult and perfectly capable of deciding that on her own."

 ***gasp* OMG, it's another repost? UGH!**

 **Bah.**

 **Okay, here's the deal. Yes, I know Cover Up hasn't updated in four months. You wanna know what I've done since the last time I updated that one?**

 **I wrote an entire novel, and published said novel.**

 **I spend several hours a day doing promotion and taking part in author take-over events throughout social media.**

 **I have written over 10,000 words on part 2 of that trilogy, and another 10K on another book that will be publishing after my current trilogy is released.**

 **I wrote the entirety of Red Horizon.**

 **I wrote 11,000 words to complete You Will be Mine; which, by the way, was over three years old, and not updated for 2.**

 **I have dealt with three family emergencies.**

 **I am currently getting ready for a visit from my parents.**

 **I have a daily chore list.**

 **I have two kids that also need my attention.**

 **I'm busy, but that in no way means I have forgotten about the whopping TWO WIPs I have. That is a pretty small number of WIPs if you look at my history where I have been known to have 6 or more at a time. I do this for fun. If I wanna write something else, I'm gonna write something else. Currently, I'm focusing on my older stories, but that doesn't mean I am not also going to peck away at Cover Up and Jagged Edges.**

 **If finishing You Will be Mine after two years doesn't prove I ALWAYS go back to my stories, and I ALWAYS finish them, then I don't know what will. This is not me saying that it'll take me two years to update my current stories. I'm merely pointing out that when I start something, it's with the full intention of completing it. Nothing of mine stays in limbo forever.**

 **I have half of Cover Up's next chapter done, but unless you want crap, you're gonna have to wait for it because Peter ain't talking to me right now. Demetri is. Be patient... or don't. That's really your decision. MY decision is what I write, and right now, I'm writing this one when I'm not writing my originals.**

 ***blows kisses***

 **Speklez out!**


	2. Chapter 2

It took Isabella about twenty minutes to change out of her formal attire and into street clothes. She didn't even attempt to dress up, slipping into her favorite worn in, ripped up and faded jeans, a halter top and a pair of sneakers. She took her hair out of the bun it was in, trading the bobby pins for a half ponytail, pulling it through her tiara and settling it on her head. She hated the stupid thing but when she was in Italy, she was required to wear it. Finally, opening her jewelry box, she pulled out her choker with the family Coat of Arms and hooked it around her neck. After a check in the mirror and grabbing her bag with her phone, wallet, cigarettes and lighter, she was out the door, swinging by Aro's office to grab some cash as she was told before heading back downstairs.

As she was heading to the ballroom, one of the guards had informed her that Demetri and the others were waiting for her outside the main entrance. After thanking him, she headed that way.

Demetri was leaning against the wall on the steps with a cigarette between his lips, waiting for the arrival of both his bike and the princess. When he heard the palace guards acknowledge Isabella, he turned to look at the main doors, blinking at the sight of the definition of laid back and 'I don't give a fuck'. Pulling his cigarette from his mouth, he smirked a little, "you have to be just about the most unconventional royal I have ever seen, Your Highness."

Isabella flicked her hair over her shoulder and shrugged a little, "I'm not used to this. Where I'm from, I'm not a princess. I'm just a teenager."

Humming a little, he shook his head a bit, "no, you're always who you are, Your Highness. Whether acknowledged or not, you cannot change your blood."

Crossing her arms as she walked down the steps to his side, "I guess so. But, if it's all the same to you, can you just call me Izzy and drop all the honorific bullshit for the rest of the night? It's going to be bad enough with the fuss I'm going to cause, I could just really use a friend and not a subject kissing my ass."

Chuckling a little with a grin as the valet pulled up with his bike, Demetri stubbed up his cigarette and nodded. "As you wish, Izzy." Grabbing his helmet and handing the guy a tip, he turned back to Isabella, "however, you'll need to excuse me if I slip a few times over the course of the evening because here, you are a princess and honoraries are unfortunately part of your life, even if you don't like them."

Nodding a little, she smiled at him, "fair enough."

Demetri then cocked a brow at her, "have you ever ridden a bike before or would you prefer to ride with Felix in the car?"

Confusion over took her when he asked that, "Felix?"

Grunting a little, Demetri sighed, "forgive me. I guess introductions are needed, huh?" Turning to his group of friends that were waiting at the bottom of the steps, he pointed to each in turn, "That is Felix, Afton, Corin, Alec and Jane." Once they dipped their heads in greeting, Demetri then held a hand to her, "for the night, this is Izzy."

Groaning, Isabella gave Demetri a flat look, "just for the night? Seriously, I HATE titles."

Demetri just shrugged, "again, it's part of who you are. So, back to the original question, can you ride with me or would you rather ride with Felix?"

Sighing a little, she shook her head a bit, "I can ride a bike."

Grinning a little, Demetri held a hand out to her, setting it on the small of her back when she was on the same step at him, "you'll need to remove your tiara because you uncle would literally kill me if I didn't have you wearing a helmet."

Snorting as she took it off and handing it to him, she took his helmet as he stowed her tiara in the compartment under the seat. "Which one?"

A shudder worked its way down Demetri's spine at the question, actually making him pause as he cringed. Looking over his shoulder at her, he cocked a brow. "Pick one and you wouldn't be wrong."

Isabella giggled a little as she pulled his helmet on, taking his hand to climb on behind him after he was on. Speaking through the visor, "out of the three, your biggest worry would be Uncle Caius."

Cocking his head a little, he looked back at her, "really? I would have thought Lord Aro would be the one to worry about."

Wrapping her arms around Demetri's waist after he kick started the bike, she called over the engine, "only if you actually want to be found. Piss off Uncle Caius and you'll never be seen again."

Glancing over his shoulder at her, Demetri smirked, "good to know." Pushing her visor down, Demetri turned back to face forward, twisted the handle before rolling away from the curb, shifting with his foot before shooting away from the palace, Felix right behind him.

*X*

Pulling into the parking deck of the hotel, Demetri stopped and swiped his keycard, rolling through the gates when they opened and pulling into the spot reserved for his room. Cutting the engine, he held the bike still and held a hand back to help Isabella off the back. Once she was on her feet, he put the kickstand down and dismounted himself, opening the seat and grabbing the extremely expensive tiara out of the compartment. Once she took off his helmet, Demetri set her crown on her head, pulling her hair through it like it was before and taking his helmet from her.

Straightening the stupid fucking headpiece and running her fingers through her hair, she smiled at Demetri, "So, probably should have asked this before, but, what exactly are we doing?"

Tossing his helmet over to Felix as he got out of his car to put back in the trunk, Demetri extended his arm for her to take before leading her towards the elevator, "I am going to change and then we are going next door to the bar."

Head snapping up to look at him as he swiped his card to operate the elevator, her jaw dropped, "had you told me that before I would have just stayed home. Demetri, I'm not old enough."

Scratching the back of his head and rolling his eyes, Demetri pulled her into the elevator with him before the others also piled in. Looking down at her, he cocked a brow, "not to sound unkind, Princess, but you should really consider brushing up on the laws of your own city. Not only is the legal drinking age here nineteen, which you are, even if you weren't, I doubt the bartender would tell you no."

Dropping her head back on the wall of the elevator, she looked up at him and gave him a concerned look, "I hope you're right, because I'm not nineteen yet. My birthday isn't until next week."

Cocking his head a little, Demetri clicked his tongue, "huh, I thought it was last week, apologies." When the doors opened and everyone filed out, he looked at his friends, "lobby in ten?"

Once everyone agreed, Demetri led Isabella to his room, swiping his key for the third time and holding the door open for her. After closing the door, he pulled at his tie and headed for the bedroom, calling over his shoulder, "make yourself comfortable. I'll only be a moment."

Nodding at his back, Isabella looked around the room and decided to be nosey since this guy seemed to know so much about her. Picking up some paperwork that was on the coffee table in the living area, she flipped through them, reading the handwritten notes in the margin before setting them back down and picking up the book. Cocking her head a little, she called out, "so, what do you do?"

There was a moment of silence before the bedroom door opened again and Demetri came out in a pair of jeans and a black beater, a crimson red long sleeved button up in one hand, the other tucking in the tank top. Smiling at her, "I took over my father's export business when I turned eighteen."

Blinking a little at him, "wow, that's actually kinda cool. So, do you get to travel a lot for that?"

Flipping on the bathroom light and setting his shirt on the counter, Demetri shrugged as he grabbed his hair gel. "I suppose, though I usually have someone else that is paid to do that. I will though if the client is being an asshole and refuses to deal with the sales reps."

Giggling a little, Isabella put her hands behind her back and leaned on the wall, "sounds like that happens more often than you would like."

Running his fingers through his hair a few times before washing the extra gel from his hands, he snorted, "well, when dealing with asshole clients and retarded sales reps, yes." Drying his hands, he picked up his shirt and slipped it on. "Most of my employees were inherited and most of those are more than likely overly comfortable in their jobs and somewhere along the lines decided to stop doing them."

Isabella cocked her head to the side, "or, maybe you're just too nice of a boss and they think you don't actually have the balls to fire them for not doing their jobs like basically every other boss in the world. I'm sure you have plenty of other shit to keep you occupied so why do their job as well as your own?"

Demetri hummed a little as he rolled his sleeves up, "and replace them with whom?"

At that, Isabella shrugged, "a dog or maybe a monkey since it sounds like they would do a better job selling whatever it is you sell to others. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't buy something from a dog or a monkey in a suit? People back home do it all the fucking time when you add music to the ad."

Demetri snorted a little as he grabbed his jacket off the chair and pulled his things out of the pockets and putting them in his jeans, "something to consider I suppose."

Grinning wide, Isabella giggled, "you bet your ass it is. Think of it this way, who is gonna be an asshole to a dog and a monkey? One little fucker would just bite them and other would steal their wallet. I'll leave it to you to decide which one gets which job."

Demetri barked out a laugh at the image that put in his head before turning to the princess with a smile. "I must say, things around Volterra are going to be very interesting when you take over the throne."

There was no hesitation in her nod, "yup. And first order of business will be to train monkeys and dogs to deal with the general public."

Shaking his head a little, he chuckled, "I look forward to seeing that. Now, are you ready to go?"

Rolling her eyes a little and pushing herself off the wall, "we were waiting for you, not me."

Presenting his arm, Demetri led Isabella out of his room and down the hall to the elevator to head to the lobby. Once the doors were closed, he looked down at her, "I'm curious. If you are to have monkeys and dogs dealing with the public, what is it you're going to be doing?"

She gave him a look that told him really should already know that answer. "I'm going to do what every single queen has done since the beginning of time. I am going to sit on my fat ass and eat bon-bons."

Demetri gave her a flat look before leaning back and shaking his head a little. There wasn't an ounce of fat on the girl so how that was her plan was beyond him. Looking back at her and winking when she cocked a brow at him for checking out her ass, he shrugged, "don't call attention to it if you don't want it to have attention." Grinning when she snorted, Demetri leaning back on the wall, "really though. What are your plans for your eventual ascent to the throne?"

Isabella shook her head a little and sighed, "I have no idea. Me being the heiress isn't just because I was the first born to the next generation, it's because Uncle Aro can't have kids of his own. Since the actual King can't produce an heir, the position went to the first born of one of the others. That's why my parents gave me the last name Volturi. It was a request by Uncle Aro when Mom told him she was pregnant before either Uncle Marcus or Uncle Caius did. My father's last name is my middle name." Then she snorted a little as the doors opened, "I feel bad for the poor bastard that I marry someday because he has to change his last name, not me."

Demetri chuckled a little as he escorted her over to the group that was waiting for them, "I doubt, very much, you will find any man that is going to care."

"I know one. My conceited, pompous, jackass little son of a bitch of an ex-boyfriend. That little fucker would either one, refuse to follow protocol and demand that however many generations there have been in the last nine hundred and seventy six years that Volterra has been ruled by a Volturi be changed to Cullen. Or, two, he would forbid me from taking the throne in the first damn place when I told him to shove the shit up his ass." Grunting a little and scowling at the sidewalk, "I don't care how pretty you are, you start throwing around words like 'forbid' and 'no' and 'over my dead body', I will rearrange your face and make that last one quite the possibility."

Jane snickered a little Demetri nodded, "well, perhaps I spoke too soon. I take it he's an American?"

She looked up at and shook her head, "hell no, he's English. Like, from England where there is a royal family."

Nodding a little as they reached the bar, "yes, where there is always at least one male heir to the throne and the family name is not in jeopardy whereas here, you just happen to be the only one in your generation to take over." Opening the door, he smiled, "allow me to rephrase, you will not find an Italian that will care."

When Isabella walked through the door, there was an immediate reaction to her presence. There wasn't a lot of people there, only about five others plus the bartender, but they all simultaneously dropped their glasses. Crossing one arm over her chest and dropping her face into the palm of the other one, she groaned a little as Demetri pushed her by a hand on her back towards the bar.

The bartender was damn near losing his fucking mind at the sight that just walked through his doors. On the verge of hyperventilating, he stared at the jewel encrusted crown on her head, under his breath, whining out, "the princess is here, in my bar. Oh my god, holy shit."

Felix grinned a little before dipping his head and whispering in Isabella's ear, "welcome home, Lady Majesty."

She just gave him the finger.

Chuckling a little, Demetri looked at the horrified princess, "any preference?" When she shook her head without looking up, he turned to the still frozen bartender, "a bottle of Jack and seven glasses."

Blinking a little, the bartender turned to the one that spoke and nearly whimpered, recognizing Demetri near immediately since his face is always on the cover of one magazine or another. Nodding a little, "have a seat. I'll bring it right over, Master De Luca." He watched Demetri roll his eyes up a little and sigh a bit before nodding and turning away with his hand on the princess' back. Before she was able to move, the bartender looked at her, "I am truly honored to have you here, Your Grace."

Isabella finally picked her head up at the comment, smiling at the bartender before giving the small space a once over, "nice little place you have here, Signore. Perhaps, if you deal in digression, I shall return often."

The bartender was pretty sure his heart stopped for a beat or two. Clearing his throat and nodding, "the utmost, Your Highness."

Giving him another smile, Isabella allowed Demetri to take her over to a table that was towards the back of the bar, nodding to those they passed when they bowed or spoke to her. Once they were seated, she crossed her arms, leaned on the back of her chair and cocked a brow at Demetri when he sat down next to her, "Master De Luca?"

Demetri just shrugged a little, "what? Master is the proper title for the first born son of any couple that doesn't name the boy after his father. While it might not be practiced where you're from, it is here."

Brow rising a little higher, "uh huh. Then the bartender nearly swallowing his tongue when he saw you was just because he decided he didn't want to live anymore? Right. You are staying in a hotel meaning you're not from here so a local owner of a small bar wouldn't know you unless you're actually known. So, spill it."

Humming a little as the bartender came to the table with his order, Demetri cocked his head, "no, I am not from here. I live outside Florence. I have already told you about my export business. So, why don't we do this the easy way and you tell me what it is you want to know."

Grunting a little at the burn of the whisky, Isabella shuddered slightly before looking at the group she was with. Thinking for a moment, she shrugged, "well, lets start with the basics I guess. How old are you guys?"

By the time she was done asking random questions, she learned that Felix was the oldest of the bunch at 23, Afton was 21 as was Corin. Jane and Alec had both just turned 20 and Demetri would be 22 in three months. Felix and Demetri had been best friends since they were kids when they met at a park their nannies had taken them to and Felix would be getting the position of VP in Demetri's company when he got his business degree in six months. Felix, Afton, Jane and Alec were cousins and Corin was Afton's step-brother. Demetri, Afton and Corin graduated together because Demetri had fallen behind in school after his parents died.

She had found out all manner of things but no one thought to mention the ties Demetri's family had to hers.

It was a couple of hours after they got there that Isabella excused herself to use the restroom and after fifteen minutes had still not returned. Jane pursed her lips a little before saying she was going to go check on her to make sure she wasn't getting sick or something after the massive intake of whisky she had. When she reached the hall that led to the bathrooms, her eyes went wide and jaw dropped a little before she gasped, "Oh my god." Turning back to the table, she called out, "Demetri!"

Shooting out of his seat, Demetri weaved through the tables with the agility of a cat before slipping past Jane into the hall. Grabbing the son of a bitch that had the princess cornered by the hair on the back of his head and his shirt, Demetri pulled him away before twisting around and slamming the guy's face into the opposite wall. Holding him right where he was, Demetri looked at Isabella, "are you alight?"

Isabella looked up at Demetri, shaking slightly as she nodded a little, "yes."

Nodding at her, Demetri then turned back to the guy whose face was still smashed into the wall, "come near her again and I will break more than just your nose. Do you understand me?" When he heard a grunt, he let go, taking a step back as the guy fell on the floor and grabbed his face. Turning to Isabella, he held out a hand, "come on. I think it's time I get you home."

Swallowing hard, Isabella took Demetri's hand and let him help her past the guy that was still on the ground groaning as he held his face.

After taking her to the table and having her sit down, Demetri went to the bar, pulling his wallet out and tossing some cash on the bartop. Looking up at the bartender, "you're going to need to call an ambulance." Looking over to the hall for a second before looking back, "and the guard. That call however, I suggest be made before I get the princess home."

Turning away from the pale as hell bartender, Demetri headed back to the table. When he was closer to the table, he looked at Felix. "Felix, give me your car keys."

WIth no hesitation, Felix pulled them out of his pocket and tossed them over, Demetri catching them in one hand as he pulled Isabella to her feet with the other. Felix's brow drew a little as he looked at Isabella before looking back at Demetri, "Dude, remember what..."

Demetri cut him off as he grabbed Isabella's bag off the back of her chair, "I'm aware what I was told, Felix. There is no need to remind me. I will see you in the morning in my room at nine sharp."

Once Felix nodded to him, Demetri wrapped an arm around Isabella's waist and pulled her out of the bar and towards the hotel parking deck. Taking her over to Felix's car, he opened the door and handled her inside, handing her her bag and closing the door. Once he was in the driver's seat, he flipped the two latches on the drop top and turned the key, putting the top down so Isabella could get some air.

Demetri drew out the drive to the palace a little, but it was short and from the scene he drove up to, it would appear that the bartender heeded the warning and placed that call to the guards. All three of her uncles were waiting at the top of the steps when he parked at the curb. Getting out, he went over to the passenger door, crouching down once he opened it and set a hand on Isabella's forearm. Once she turned to him, he lowered his voice a little, "are you sure you're alright?"

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she nodded, "yeah, I'm fine. I was coming out of the bathroom at the same time he did and it just got out of hand." Then she set her hand on her chest where Demetri just realized her choker was missing from, "he wanted my choker but ended up breaking it."

Sighing and running his hand down his face, Demetri tisked lightly, knowing that it wasn't her crest the fucker was after, but refused to be the one that pointed that out. "Do you have it or does he?"

At that she opened her hand and showed him her choker, "I do. He dropped it when you grabbed him."

Nodding, Demetri stood and helped her out of the car, "good. Come on." Setting a hand on the small of her back, he led Isabella up the steps to her waiting uncles, her going straight to Aro.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Aro looked at Demetri with a smirk. "From the preliminary reports of the medics that have arrived on scene, it would seem you did quite the damage, Demetri."

Demetri clasped his hands behind his back and cocked his head to the side, "perfect. I hope I shattered his entire fucking face." Bowing a little when Aro nodded to him, "I will see you in the morning, Majesties."

As Demetri was walking back down the steps to Felix's car, Isabella pulled away from her uncle and called out for him to wait. Once he turned to look at her, she bit her lip a little, "thanks again Demetri. I owe you one."

Smirking a little, Demetri shook his head, "nonsense, Your Highness. It is the honor of a gentleman to defend a lady." Dipping his head, "Good night, Izzy." With that, he turned back and bounded down the steps and to the car, smiling at her once more before getting in and pulled away.

Isabella watched him drive away for a minute before turning back to her uncles, confusion on her face before shaking her head, "he has to be the only person alive that would refuse to hold me to that." If she was expecting an argument from her uncles about that statement, she was sorely disappointed when all three only nodded at her.

After a moment, Marcus looked at her, "it would be best for you to head to bed, Stella. Tomorrow starts early."


	3. Chapter 3

Isabella didn't sleep nearly at all that night, constantly waking up in cold sweats at the images that haunted her. Her parents faces flashing through her dreams, turning them all into blissful nightmares of torturous longing. Her memories surfacing and taunting her with affection that she would never have again. Her heart ached and broke each time it pounded against her ribs. Even when closed, her eyes leaked and poured tears to the point that they pooled under cheek when the pillow under her head could soak up no more.

At the breakfast table, she didn't eat anything, just poked at and pushed her food around with her temple propped against her palm. Shaking her head 'no' when asked if she was hungry, she swallowed before moving her eyes to Aro, "can I be excused? I still have to get a shower."

Getting up from the table when he nodded, she left the room and went back to hers, taking the longest shower she possibly could before she had to get dressed. Once she was dried, she slipped into the black dress that looked like it was a ballgown. It was a fitted, strapless bodice with a large, full skirt. Pulling on the bicep length gloves, she buttoned the six button that went from wrist to elbow in the inside of her forearm.

Deciding to just let her hair do its own thing since it wasn't going to be seen aways, she pulled part of it through a much more ornate crown and, after that was settled into place, grabbed the six foot long black veil and slipped the comb into her hair. Then she took the same half face birdcage veil from the day before and clipped it into her hair.

Taking her family crest off the broken chain, she dug out a black ribbon choker she had and, removing the charm from it, slid the crest on before clasping it around her neck. Finally, she sat down and grabbed her shoes, slipping them on before wrapping the ribbon ties up to her knees before tying them off and fastening her cigarette case holder to her calf, this time making sure she had her lighter.

Going over to her vanity, she picked up Demetri's kerchief she still had and slipped it into her glove between the buttons in the right glove, picked up her black hand fan, looked in the mirror for a moment before leaving her room and heading downstairs where her uncles were waiting for her so they could go to the church.

*X*

Demetri was finishing getting dressed when he heard the announcement on the television about the arrival of the Royal Family to the church. Though the service itself was televised, the burial was not and there was a very select few that had Aro's permission to attend.

Coming out of his bedroom as he began tying his tie, he looked at the tv, his lip curling a little in distaste as he shook his head, "if you are going to make mention of him, at least have the decency to learn the man's fucking name, you disgusting bastards."

He was straightening the knot of his tie when there was a knock on his door. Opening it, Demetri moved to the side to let Felix enter before going back to the mirror to finish what he was doing.

Felix turned to the television, watching as the camera focused on Isabella as she walked with her arm linked through Aro's and then closing in on the utter heartbreak and devastation on her face, shaking his head at how the reporter called her the 'only daughter of our beloved Princess Athenodora and her husband'. When he spoke, it was with a horrible taste in his mouth, "ya know, for Izzy's sake, I am so glad Lord Marcus put that gag order on the media here so she never has to see this bullshit. I get the man isn't from here but for fuck's sake, he was technically part of the Royal Family as well considering he was married to Princess Athenodora. They could have at least put a little effort into this."

Sitting down to put his shoes on, Demetri grunted, "You will hear no argument from me. At least once she returns to America the media there, should they broadcast the deaths, would care enough about one of their own countrymen to say his name and not simply refer to him as the husband. This, my friend, is nothing but complete and utter disrespect of the dead. Plain and fucking simple." Standing up and grabbing his tailcoat, checking his pockets for all of his effects, he was slipping it on as he turned back to Felix, "they are making him out to not matter when he matters a great deal. The Majesty Isabella would not be here if not for Charles Swan and it seems to me they overlook that little fact."

Felix grunted a little, "overlook, completely ignore, to them they just don't give a fuck."

Grabbing his gloves and hat off the counter, Demetri sniffed at the notion before shaking his head, "insensitive assholes, the lot of them." Heading for the door, he held it open for Felix before locking it behind him, "are the others attending or just us?"

Felix shook his head as they walked to the elevator, "nah, just us. They said since they didn't know either of them and are not from Volterra, they didn't feel they had a right to intrude on the actual funeral. To tell you the truth, I don't really feel I should go since I never met Charles and only met the princess a handful of times. I think I'll just drop you off and come back after I pay my respects. Just give me a buzz when it's over and I'll swing back by the church and pick you up."

Demetri nodded as they stepped on the elevator, "very well."

*X*

When Demetri and Felix arrived and got out of the car a block from the church, Demetri set his hat on his head and pulled on his gloves as they walked. Just as it was televised, the church service was open to the public as well. The two didn't have to deal with the media however until after they passed the gates and entered the courtyard and it could only be described as a were absolutely everywhere. The only place you didn't see a camera or microphone was in a very specific and closely monitored area around the Majesties who stood at the entrance of the church to greet the mourners, and Demetri used that term very loosely.

Ignoring every time he heard his name, Demetri walked next to Felix up the steps to the doors, removing his hat and bowed to the Lords before giving a small smile to the Lady that wasn't handling this well. She wasn't even handling it as well as could be expected under the circumstances. Though she was trying her damnedest to hide it, she was an absolute wreck.

When Isabella lifted her eyes and saw the deep blue ones of Demetri looking back at her, she grabbed his wrist before he passed her. Giving him the most pitiful look he had ever seen, she whimpered, "stay with me, please."

Moving his eyes to Aro, he waited to see him nod before slipping behind her and setting his hand on her back to which she reached behind her and grabbed, lacing her fingers with his before squeezing with everything she had.

Looking down at her, Demetri dipped his head and whispered behind her ear, "pay no attention to these people, Izzy. Go ahead and cry, Tesoro."

As if she was waiting for someone to tell her it was alright. Letting go of his hand, she slipped her arm under his before wrapping her grip around it, turning her head into his jacket. With her other hand, she opened her fan and brought it up to her face to hide behind as she brought the kerchief in her hand that was around Demetri's arm to her mouth to try and muffle the sounds of her choked sobs and whimpers.

Demetri just flexed his arm a little to shift it into a more natural position before wrapping his arm across her body and wrapped his fingers around her side, pulling her back at little so she was leaning against his chest.

Aro watched the interaction with a little smile on his face. Had he known the two would hit it off as they did upon meeting, he would have certainly approved of the betrothment between them when he was asked about it the first time eighteen years ago by both his sister and Demetri's mother. The only reason he had declined to do so was because Dora wasn't going to be raising Isabella in the kind of society that those kinds of arrangements were common enough of an occurrence. Had she decided to raise her in Italy, it would have been a completely different matter however.

Bringing a hand to his mouth, Aro coughed into the back of his fingers, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as the tremor traveled down his spine. Once the pain subsided, he wiped his lips clean and turned his head a little when he saw Demetri looking at him, concern on his face, from the corner of his eye. Saying nothing to him, Aro caught his eye and placed his finger to lips, telling Demetri to stay silent.

Though the question was on the tip of his tongue, Demetri swallowed it back, nodding a little to show his understanding to the request. Fifteen minutes later, when it was time for the Family to enter the church for the start of the service, in an expert maneuver, Demetri twisted his arm around so instead of being wrapped around the princess, she was now standing next to him.

Looking up at Demetri, Isabella bit her lip a little before closing her eyes and moving next to him as he escorted her to her seat, clinging to his arm with both of hers. She could feel everyone's eyes on her and it only made her tighten her grip. When they got to the pew, Demetri went in first, helping her sit before taking his own. She was between Demetri and Caius with Marcus on the other side of Caius and Aro would sit on the end since he had a speech to make. Her eyes didn't stray from the podium because she was positive she would throw up if she saw the castets.

She did quite well in her plan to not look until one of the dumbass techs dropped a boomstick on the other side of the church thirty minutes in. Jumping at the sudden crash, she looked over, as did everyone in the room, and watched as he picked the mic back up. It was as she was turning back that her eyes drifted across the stage where her parents laid in their open caskets. Gagging a little, she brought her hand to her mouth and covered her lips as her stomach rolled at the sight of their profiles that were visible from her vantage point.

Pulling free of Demetri's arm, she shot out of her seat and, as fast as could, she stepped over him and ran down the aisle, darting into a dead sprint once she was free of the confines and to a side entrance. Slamming into the door and throwing it open, she made it five steps before grabbing onto the corner of the church and, bending at the waist, puked her fucking guts out.

There was a cameraman and a reporter standing outside the door, having a smoke break since everyone was inside. When the door crashed open, they jumped to their feet at the noise it made. They watched as the door banged off the wall with such force that it swing back and slammed shut before turning to the princess when she became ill. The cameraman turned to his camera and turned it off before facing it away from the scene since it was able to be turned back on by remote from the station. Once he was sure there was no possible way that this could be witnessed by anyone, he then went over to Isabella, making to her just in time to catch her around the waist when her knees gave out from under her, the reporter also moving to her side and pulling her hair out of her face as she continued to get sick.

Back inside the church, Caius stood from his seat, telling Demetri he would get her when the young man went to get up and Aro giving the prest a sign to continue the service when he stopped. Giving a signal to the guards to watch the door so no one came out that way and also taking one out with him, Caius left the church.

Once outside and the door shut behind him, Caius gave the little nook a once over and saw the camera, narrowing his eyes a little when he saw the little red light turn on. Looking back at the cameraman, "should even a single moment of this make the news, I will personally see the one responsible for it rot in the dungeons." Then he turned his attention to his niece, who was being held out of a puddle of vomit by the news personale, holding a napkin to her lips.

When she heard her uncle's voice, Isabella turned to him, taking in ragged breaths but not actually getting any air. Pulling away from the reporters, she turned and ran to Caius, slamming into his chest and burying her face into his shirt and latched onto his jacket as gut and heart wrenching sobs ripped out of her throat.

Caius wrapped one arm around her to keep her standing as he used the other one to remove the veil and crown from her head, dropping both of them to the ground like they didn't even matter before setting his chin on the top her head, slipping his fingers into her hair, gently scratching at her scalp.

As she clung to her uncle, between her body spasm sobs, she choked out, "I can't. I know... what you... I can't... I can't do this."

Tightening his hold on her, Caius lowered his voice, "enough, Stella. Enough." Turning to the guard that stood there watching as his princess literally broke in front of him, he nodded to the door, "go fetch the Young Master De Luca. Now."

After dipping his head, the guard lightly rapped on the door, slipping in through as small of an opening as he could manage so there was no chance someone would be able to see what was going on before quickly making his way over to where Demetri was sitting. After a quick bow to the remaining brothers, he leaned over the wall of the pew and whispered in Demetri's ear, "Lord Caius wants to see you, Master De Luca."

Nodding, Demetri grabbed his hat and followed the guard out the door the princess went out a few minutes prior, his heart breaking a little at the scene he walked out to. Sighing a little, "oh, Tesoro."

Both Isabella and Caius turned at the sound of his voice, Caius' face drawn in sadness and Isabella's in complete brokenness.

Isabella pulled away from her uncle and fell into open and waiting arms, whimpering into his chest, "Demetri."

Demetri just wrapped her in his arms, setting his forehead on the top of her head and whispered into her hair. "Shh; I know, Tesoro. I know." Rocking her a few moments, he then lifted his head to look at Caius, "what do you want me to do?"

Caius sighed a little as he picked up her veil and crown he dropped and looked at him, "I want you to take her home and stay with her. She can't take anymore."

Nodding, Demetri let go with only the intent of getting his phone, but Isabella didn't hear the short conversation and took it to mean something else causing her to cry out a little and tighten her grip. Rewrapping his arm around her, he dipped his head to her ear. "Shh, it's alright, Tesoro. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Hearing a whimper, he slowly moved to try again, moving at a normal pace only after she put up no fight. Pulling his phone out, he flipped it open, holding the three and placing it to his ear when the call connected. When he heard Felix's voice on the other end, he looked down at the top of Isabella's head, "I need you to come to the back of the church and pick me and Izzy up as quickly as you can."

" _Is she alright?"_

Shaking his head, "no."

" _On my way. Be there in ten."_

Hanging up his phone when the call was ended, Demetri put it away and wrapped his arm back around Isabella.

While Demetri was making his call, one had come into the camera man that was still in the little nook. Currently, he was getting his ass reamed for what was coming through his camera feed because his boss had seen the Princess flee and wanted video of what she was doing. Caius, hearing only part of the conversation, moved with purpose over to the man that was desperately trying not to have to tell his boss what was going on and snatched his phone out of his hand.

Holding his finger up to the cameraman's shocked face, Caius put the phone to his ear, "this is Caius Volturi. I will tell you the same thing I told your employee. What is currently happening involving my niece is none of your fucking business. If I see but one camera anywhere near her, not only will I have your job, I will have your head. The child is grieving the loss of both of her parents. Leave her the hell alone or you will deal with me and I am not nearly as nice as Aro. Am I understood?"

There was a noise on the other side of the line that brought a smirk to Caius' lips that turned into a nasty looking grin when the shaky reply of, 'of course, My Lord' came through right after. Hanging up without another word, Caius then wrapped the phone in his fist and pointed a finger at the cameraman and then the reporter who couldn't seem to take her eyes off Isabella and Demetri. "You breathe a word of anything you have seen here, be it my niece's actions or anything that transpired between her and Master De Luca and they will be the last you ever say. I was not joking about rotting in the dungeons. If you think I was, I beg you to test that theory."

Both of the news personale gulped a little before nodding.

It was only a few minutes later that Felix pulled up to the alley behind the church, getting out and leaving the engine running. Looking up the street and seeing cameras, he growled a little before jogging up the small street to the nook. Stopping when everyone present was in his view, he swallowed hard at the sight of the Princess as she continued to cry on Demetri's chest. Clearing his throat a little to catch his attention, he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, "hey, Dem; man, this place is crawling with cameras. We gotta go now if you want to get out of here without them seeing her."

Caius glared at the media reporters present at that, who quickly shook their heads, "that ain't us Your Majesty. There is a crew inside and us out here. That's someone else that was probably given the same orders we were in finding out what the Princess was up to when she left."

Growling a little, Caius shook his head, "vultures, every single one of you." Handing Felix the veil and crown he still had in his hands, he then turned to the guard that was still present, "go deal with that."

Once the guard was gone, Demetri bent and slipped his arm under Isabella's knees and scooped her up into his arms. Dipping his head to Caius, who waved to him to go, he then followed after Felix, stopping at the end of the alley when Felix held up a hand telling him to wait as he went to his car, getting in and lowering the top so it was easier to get into the back seat. Once that was done, he leaned over the front and grabbed and pulled the lever to the passenger seat, pushing it as far forward as it would go.

Once the car was ready for a clean getaway, Felix looked to the end of the street, waiting until the guard got the cameras around the corner before throwing the door open. "Let's go."

Looking around the corner of the building, Demetri then jogged to the car, slipping into the back with Isabella on his lap for the moment.

Once Demetri was in the car, Felix flipped the switch to put the top back up, pushed the front seat back with his elbow and then pulled the door closed. By that time, he was able to reach up and latch the top into place and pull away.

Sliding over behind the driver's seat, Demetri lifted Isabella off his lap and sat her next to him on the seat, lifting an arm when she laid down across it and set her head on his thigh before draping it over her while he ran his fingers through her hair when she just continued to cry.

Caius watched until the car was out of sight before looking at the reporters again. "Remember what I said." With that he simply turned and, after a tap on the door, went back inside with his head held high, ignoring the eyes that followed him to his seat, stepping over Marcus when he moved down so he was sitting between him and Aro.

Once his youngest brother was seated and settled, Aro leaned over a little and lowered his voice so that those behind him couldn't hear him. "Is she alright?" Caius said nothing, simply shook his 'no' ever so slightly. Neither of the older brothers pushed him for more than that, knowing that once they were alone he would tell them what happened.

And he did as soon as they were in the car on their way to the cemetery that was outside the gates of the city. After he was settled in his seat, Caius looked at Aro. "After she went outside she became ill so I sent her home in the care of Demetri and and his friend Felix. She, very literally, cannot deal with anymore." Looking at his eldest brother, he crossed his arms, his voice falling to a whisper, "she broke, Aro. I watched her shatter and I don't know if she can be fixed."

Aro swallowed hard at that but Marcus responded, "neither could Dora after Mother and Father passed until she met Charles. I believe, given enough time, Demetri can do for her what Charles did for Dora."

Aro had his chin in his palm looking out the window shaking his head, "Demetri goes home tomorrow."

Marcus snorted a little as he laced his fingers together over his stomach, "do you truly think he's going anywhere? He looks at her and see himself four years ago when his own parents died. I know you remember as well as I do how he was for a long time after that. There is no way in hell he is going to stand by and let her go down the same path he did if he believes there is a chance he can save her from it."

Tisking a little, Aro looked at his brother, "do you truly believe that?"

Marcus just nodded a little. "When his parents died, Demetri didn't have anyone that truly understood what he was going through at the time nor did he have any family around to help him cope. He had his friends that didn't know any better than to simply give him what he thought he needed, an escape that eased his pain and dulled his sense of suffering. He learned the harshest lesson in the hardest way one can and with the way he is now, because of that lesson, he won't allow her to make that mistake if he can stop it."

Cocking his head a little, Aro hummed, "he learned a great deal over that year. Which lesson are you referring to?"

A sad smile formed on Marcus' lips as looked over at Aro, "that an escape doesn't change reality. It only makes it harder to come back to."

*X*

Upon returning to the palace after the burial, Aro separated from his brothers as they went to check on their niece and instead went to his office.

When they reached her chambers, Caius and Marcus sighed a little at the sight she made. She was still in her dress lying on the floor of her balcony, head resting on Demetri's thigh, just staring off into space as tears continued to fall. Demetri sat propped up against the railing, the leg that wasn't being used as a pillow bent at the knee, one arm draped over it with a cigarette in his fingers as he gently ran the fingers of his other hand through Isabella' hair.

When the two of them heard the light sighs, they both turned to look at Caius and Marcus, Demetri closing his eyes and lowering his head a little as Isabella sucked in a choking breath.

Lips trembling and body shaking, Isabella whispered, "is it... are they?" When she saw the shallow nods, she squeezed her eyes shut, lips pulling back from her teeth as she turned her face into Demetri's leg, her hold on his pants tightening into a white knuckled grip as a scream ripped from the bottom of her broken soul.

*X*

Aro was in his office for about a half hour when there was a knock on the open door. Looking up from the photo album in his lap, he sighed a little before turning back to the pictures of his baby sister's wedding. "Come in, Demetri."

Demetri swallowed hard before entering, slowly walking across the room to a chair across from Aro in front of the fireplace. Once he was seated, he took a little breath before letting it out slowly, lifting his eyes to look at his face. "You're not well, are you Master Aro?"

Sighing with a little hum to it, Aro simply turned the page of the album, a small smile lifting the corner of his lips at the pictures of Demetri being held by Dora as she twirled him around in a circle on the dance floor, both of them with looks of joy as they laughed. Not lifting his eyes from the photos, "I don't know if you remember since you were so young at the time." Pulling the picture from its place, he held it out for Demetri to take, "you were there when my sister married Charles." When he took it, Aro sat back in his chair and looked at the young man the child in the picture had become. "Your parents were the only others from here besides my brothers and I that were allowed to attend that occasion."

Demetri looked up from the picture in his hand of him as a toddler in the arms of the late princess as she looked at him with bright green eyes and a brighter smile, both of which would be passed onto Isabella when she was born. Looking at Aro, he shook his head a little, "though I wish I could say differently, I don't remember this, no."

Nodding with a smile on his face, Aro chuckled a little, "not truly surprising. You were scarcely two at the time. It was shortly after that very photo was taken, in the innocence that only a child has, you told Dora then that she was pregnant and it would be confirmed six weeks later, though at the time she simply laughed and ruffled your hair."

Taking the picture and and putting back in its place, Aro closed the book and stood, moving over to the bookshelf and replacing it where it belonged before turning back. Scratching his brow, Aro then sighed a little, "no, I am not well." Retaking his seat, "six months ago, I fell ill and it was bad enough to need to be hospitalized."

Demetri nodded a little at that, "I remember."

Pinching his chin between his thumb and middle finger, Aro tapped his cheek with his index finger a few times, "during the tests that were ran to find out what was wrong, it was discovered that I have a very rare and incurable form of cancer that attacks the brain and lungs."

Demetri dropped hard onto the back of his chair, ice cold shock sliding down his spine as he looked at Aro when slightly parted lips. Swallowing hard and licking his lips, he took a breath and let it out slowly, "how much time do you have left?"

Aro shrugged a little, "I was told a year six months ago. Other than Marcus and Caius, you are the only one that knows and I would like it to stay that way for now."

"What about Izzy?"

A sad smile formed on Aro's face as he sighed, "she has enough to deal with right now. I will tell her when it becomes necessary for her to know. For now, she cannot take anymore bad news."

Demetri just nodded a little. There was no denying that statement at all, she really couldn't.


	4. Chapter 4

It has been a week since the funeral of her parents and Isabella was just this side of the line of completely going crazy. She had thought that the worst thing that ever could have happened to her was the death of her parents, but she was wrong. No, even worse than that was returning home where everyone had found out who she was. People that had never so much as looked at her before were suddenly trying to be her best friend. Others that she had literally never even seen before in her life were popping out of the woodwork like fucking cockroaches.

But, even worse than that was the cameras. They were everywhere. She went to class, there they were. To the coffee shop, there they were. They didn't even attempt covertness. No, they were right there, in her face, taking pictures of her pores. She didn't know how to deal with this bullshit. This was something that only happened on the very rare occasion that she actually went with her mother to the Honorary Ball in Italy, not here.

When her mother came to America all those years ago she never told anyone who she was because she was trying to get AWAY from this crap, so a grand total of seven people had ever known that she was a princess. Her brothers, just like every other famous person, had the best drivers in the world at their disposal so when they came for the wedding, they were able to give the media the slip, so they never got a shot of Athenodora or Charles that day and thus avoiding anyone finding out that the soon to come Isabella was a member of the Italian Royal Family.

Though her actual last name was a gimme, she never went by it unless she was in Italy. She went by Isabella Swan, leaving Voturi off when she introduced herself. No one ever questioned it seeing as how that was her dad's last name and the one her mother also went by. Volturi was on her license but only because it had to be and really, not a lot of people she showed it to knew the significance of it.

All that work to hide her title went to shit when her parents died and the funeral was broadcasted all across the globe and her face was plastered on nearly every magazine she had ever heard of. She would never understand how celebrities dealt with this without going to jail for laying a mother fucker out. Tightening her grip on the strap of her backpack, she pressed her lips together as yet another camera was shoved in her face making her eyes narrow into near slits.

The guy with the camera looked the pissed off princess in the eye and gave her a grin, "I would love to be the first to get some kind of statement from you."

A little growl rose in Isabella's throat as she glared a little darker, "no." Stepping around the man, she had every single intention of simply walking away, until she heard him say something to the effect of calling her an uptight bitch. Freezing in place, her back went ridged before she turned on her heel, formed a fist, cocked her arm back and decked him in the fucking nose. Bending down and picking up the camera that he had dropped, she opened the back before yanking the negatives out into the sunlight and destroying them before dropping the camera on the sidewalk.

Turning her head to the side, she saw yet another camera flash and gave him a wide grin. Crossing her arms, she called out, "hey, you want a statement?"

Looking at one of his biggest competitors lying at her feet and bleeding, he nodded and carefully made his way over. The amount of money he would make getting the first statement from the Italian princess would pay his bills for at least the next six months so if she decked him too, it would be worth it. Pulling his recorder out of his pocket, he looked at Isabella, "what would you like to say, Your Highness?"

Grinning a little wider at that, Isabella's voice was as sweet as a Georgia peach. "Two weeks ago, you couldn't have cared less about what I did or where I went or who I was with. Where I get my coffee, where I eat, what that is, that in my business, no one else's. I am a person that deserves the same respect to my privacy as anyone else, something that you people should really keep in mind because I have diplomatic immunity in every country on the planet. Don't fuck with me."

After giving the reporter a beaming smile, Isabella simply turned around again and continued her way to her car to go home for the day, pulling her phone out of her bag as she opened the door and slipped inside.

*X*

It was very early morning when Demetri's phone rang on his nightstand, ripping him out of the dream world and into the land of the living. Lifting his face out of his pillow, he looked over at the glowing screen from a moment before dropping his head back down with a groan. He hadn't slept well thus far and this was a pure annoyance. Without lifting his head again, he blindly reached over and felt around for his phone, flipping it open and putting it to his ear, "Caio."

" _Oh my god, the extreme bullshit that is the American media is going to give me a fucking complex."_

Groaning a little as he pushed himself up onto his forearms, Demetri ran a hand down his face, "what happened this time, Iz?"

" _The fuckers are like cockroaches, I swear. Where there is one, there are hundreds and you can't kill them all. Ugh, had I known shit was going to be like this, I would have just stayed in Italy. And, actually, to that point, I don't know which is really worse. The media or the rest of the population that is also up my Royal ass. At least there, there is a fucking reason for the headache. There my title matters. Here, yeah, not so fucking much."_

Rolling over onto his back, Demetri tossed his arm over his eyes and sighed a little, "I kinda remember telling you that your blood always matters. The difference now is it's acknowledged whereas before it was not. No matter where you go, you are who you are. You can't change it." There was a dark chuckle in his ear making Demetri sit up in bed, "what did you do?"

" _I am pretty sure I just broke this one guy's nose."_

Falling back onto his bed, Demetri draped his arm above his head and gave the ceiling a flat looks, "please tell me you're joking." When there was a giggled 'nope' in his ear, he rubbed his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose, "you do realize that by doing that, you just made things a lot worse for yourself, don't you?"

" _Believe me when I say that is not possible. Do you know that the entire country knows what kind of tampons I use because there was a wonderful picture of me buying them on the cover of a fucking magazene yesterday? I have only been home for four days. I didn't think that they put out issues that damn fast. Fortunately, because of that cover, if there becomes a need for me to defend myself against the bastard, I can blame PMS."_

Demetri just chuckled a little at that before covering his mouth when he yawned. Blinking a little and clearing his throat a bit, "well, there is always that I suppose."

" _Oh, Jeeze. I'm so sorry, Demetri. It's like, four in the morning there. I woke you up, didn't I?_ "

Grunting a bit, Demetri stretched out in bed before looking at his clock, "four thirty, actually, and no you didn't"

" _You're a horrible fucking liar, you know that? I'm sorry. I'll let you get back to bed. Besides, I gotta call and wake up one of my uncles and tell them what happened before they find out on their own. Uncle Caius is going to think this is funnier than hell but Uncle Aro is gonna be pissed."_

Demetri yawned again and groaned a little, "I'm sure it will be fine. Chances are they won't even be mad about it, probably jealous of the fact they have more than likely wanted to do that themselves on more than one occasion and you did it first."

There was a moment's pause before she came back, " _hope you're right because Uncle Aro is calling. Damn their quick with that shit. I'll talk to you later, Demetri_."

Nodding a little, "have a good evening, Tesoro." Once she hung up, Demetri closed his phone and picked up his remote, turning on his TV and changing it to the international news channel, smirking a little as the top report of the morning was a beautiful clip of Isabella slamming her fist into some poor bastard's face. Chuckling a little, he went ahead and got out of bed to start his morning, "good girl, Izzy"

*X*

After switching lines, Isabella waited a second longer before sighing and putting her phone to her ear, "he deserved it, Uncle Aro."

There was a light chuckle in her ear before Aro's amused voice came through, " _while I am inclined to believe that, Stella, there are far better ways to deal with the media than that._ "

"He called me a bitch. It was either that or something else that could have potentially been far worse. I felt that I took the best route presented to me and did him a service at the same time."

There was a light snort, " _oh, I can't wait to hear this. Go ahead_."

Biting her lip a little knowing this was either going to do her in and make him yell or end it and make him laugh. It was really a toss up. "Well, it was either make him bleed or make him cry. I did him a service because it is far more manly to do the former over the latter when your face is splattered all over the world. Tell me the truth, which you rather be known as, the guy that got a bloody nose for sticking it where it didn't belong or the whiny little bitch that cried on international television?"

When she heard a familiar deep laugh in the background, Isabella sagged in relief. She was apparently on speaker and Uncle Caius was present. There was no way she going to get in trouble with him there. She could literally murder someone and he wouldn't say a word about it, he would help her bury the body.

" _Good girl, Stella. I cannot tell you how many times over the years I wish I would have done something similar. Oh, to have the gall of a teenager again, huh Aro?"_

When she heard Aro chuckle as well, she knew she was in the clear. " _Absolutely. However, Stella. In the future, let's hold onto your temper a little harder, shall we? It is one thing for it to happen now so close to recent events but quite another for it to happen later on."_

Though she was grinning, the smile wasn't in her voice, "of course, Uncle Aro. I'm sorry."

" _No need for apologies, Stella. Just mind your temper in the future and we will let this loss slide, deal?"_

"Will a promise to try suffice? Their really bad and are always there. And by always, I fucking mean always. Like seriously, I had to lock myself in a bathroom for over an hour yesterday or this would have happened sooner."

With another chuckle, Aro ended the call, " _just bare with it for the time being, Stella. This, like all things, will pass."_

*X*

"Not getting any better, Iz?"

Looking over at her best friend of eleven years, Isabella wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "no. If anything, it has only gotten worse since I decked that little fucker last month."

Rosalie gave her best friend a sympathetic look as she walked next to her to their next class. She had bore witness to many different near misses in Isabella losing her temper and cold clocking another reporter in the last few weeks since she got home and there wasn't a single time that anyone would have blamed her for it. They were literally all up in her face, no matter where she went, what she did. If this was going to pass, it needed to be soon or, diplomatic immunity or not, Izzy was going to go to jail for murder.

Rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down a little, Rose bumped her shoulder against Isabella's, a smile on her face as she looked down, "I know. How about after class, we have Emmett drive your car and we take mine and go get some sushi. That way the stupid bastards follow the wrong car and you finally get a break... while Emmett breaks them."

Hope filled Isabella to the brim as she looked up at her best friend, "if you think that will actually work, I am all for it. The only problem is, how the fuck are they not going to see a monster get into my car? Emmett is six and half feet tall, I am not. Even they will notice the difference."

Rose hummed a little at the presented problem. Yes, there was the issue of the height difference, not to mention one was guy while the other was not. Emmett was not only over a foot taller than Isabella and a different sex, but he had short brown hair so even from a distance, there wouldn't be a question as to the fact that the princess was not getting in her car. Tapping her lips with the tip of her finger a few times, she grinned a little, "I got it. You know that car wash four blocks from campus? Emmett and I will meet you there. While you go through, get out, let Emmett get in and when the car leaves the tunnel, the reporters won't be close enough to notice the change until they see Emmett get out at your house. By then, there will be no sniffing you out."

Grinning back at her, Isabella chuckled, "your brain will never cease to amaze me, Rose. That might actually work."

It did too.

Halfway through the carwash, Isabella got out of her car and, after a grateful thank you to Emmett as he got in her car, she slipped back to the entrance, poking her head out and looking both ways on the property for any of the normal indicators of paparazzi before darting over to Rose's car that was parked next to the office. She stayed crouched on the floorboard between the seat and dash until Rose pulled out of the lot and got about a block away before moving to the passenger seat and putting on her seatbelt.

Looking over at Rose, Isabella sighed, "the shit you put up with when it comes to me has got to get annoying."

Rose just waved a hand in the air as she drove in the direction of their favorite sushi house, "nah. It's not like it's your fault you have to deal with all the fucking vultures. You can't help the family you were born into, Izzy. Besides, you need to have at least one person around that has your back without wanting anything in return. I have been putting up with all the stupid bullshit that comes with being your friend for over a decade, Iz. I'm not gonna abandon you just because there is a little more work required now. To them, you're Isabella Volturi but to me, you're always gonna be Isabella Swan, the geeky little bookworm I met in sixth grade when I was new in town. You were there for me when I didn't have anyone. Now it's my turn to return the favor."

A small smile formed on Isabella's face as she looked over at Rose, "ya know, if you were about five inches shorter and consented to going burnette, you could totally play my double and face the cameras since I know you love that shit."

Rose giggled a little as she pulled into the parking lot, looking over at Isabella, "not on your fucking life, Princess."

Isabella stuck her tongue out as she got out of the car.

After a quick scan of the parking lot, the girls headed inside and up to the sushi bar where they always sat when they came there. After placing their order, Rose turned to her friend, "so, since there are no unwanted ears around, tell me about this Demetri guy you mentioned when you first came home."

Propping her chin in her palm and twirling her straw in her glass, Isabella sighed a little, "he's just a guy I met at the wake that knows what it's like to lose both your parents at the same time. I never got the full story about it but it was about five years ago, I guess. He runs his father's export business, he'll be 22 next month and is like, ridiculously proper. He is a really nice guy that was willing to be a shoulder to cry on for the few days I was there. We talk on the phone a few times a week when I am having a hard time sleeping or wake up in the middle of the night or when the fucking reporters get on my damn nerves."

Taking a drink of her tea, Rose smirked after swallowing, "you like him, don't you?"

Shrugging a shoulder, "I guess so. I mean, he's different than any other man I have ever met. He was not only raised with manners but actually applies them. It's a... nice change of pace compared to the assholes around here."

Giving the sushi chef a smile as she took her plate from him, Rose picked up her chopsticks and looked over as she grabbed a piece of her roll, "have you Googled him yet?"

Isabella shook her head as she too took her plate from the chef, "nope, and I don't plan on it. There is too much bias bullshit on the net these days that even if I did, I wouldn't know what was real and what was not and, wouldn't that be an awkward fucking conversation. 'Oh, hey, Demetri. So, I googled you to find out all your deep dark secrets and this one site said this. Is that true or are the reporters there as big of a pain in the ass as they are here and make shit up to make you look bad?" Picking up a piece of sushi, Isabella grunted, "no, not gonna happen. If there is something he wants me to know, he'll tell me. If not, then it really isn't any of my business."

Rose giggled a little, "yeah, you like him."

Grinning a little, Isabella conceded, "I don't hate him."

After that, the conversation turned to other things they would normally have talked about as they finished their sushi. It was actually a normal, wonderful time for the Italian Princess. Until they left anyways. Like there was a homing beacon on her ass, the cameras were back and flashing as she and Rose walked outside. Growling a little as she looked up at Rose with a glare on her face, "I swear to God, I'm moving to Italy where this shit is actually to be expected."

What Isabella didn't know was just how correct that statement was at the time she said it, or just how soon it was going to be happening. Two hours later, she was rushing to the airport to catch a charter back to Italy after a call came in from her Uncle Marcus about the abrupt and rapid decline in Aro's health.


	5. Chapter 5

A knock on the door pulled Demetri away from the game he was watching to the window on the other side of the room and saw the storm had only gotten worse in the last half hour. Face colored in confusion as he turned back to his friends that were over, "who would be out in this weather?" Felix just shook his head as Demetri headed for the door, calling off the butler that was on his way to the door, "I got it Nikoli." Unlocking the door when he go to it, Demetri pulled it open and blinked at the sight of a drowned princess on his doorstep wearing a pair of yoga pants and a skin tight tank top that only went to the bottom of her ribs.

It only took him a half a second to come out of his shock before he reached out and grabbed her by the forearm and pulled her out of the rain, "get in here before you get sick." After he closed the door, he asked Nikoli to get a towel before turning to Isabella. "What the hell are you doing out in this anyway?"

Isabella had her arms crossed over her chest, shoulders hunched up and looking up at Demetri through her lashes as she shivered every so often. Biting her lip a little, she swallowed hard before taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry for coming by unannounced like this."

Demetri shook his head, "don't worry about it. It's fine. But seriously, what the hell are you doing out in this storm? Which, by the way, has stranded you here until it passes because there is literally no force on the planet that will convince me to allow you leave until then."

Looking at her feet as she created a puddle on the marble floor, "it wasn't raining when I left and by the time it got really bad I was closer to here than I was to Volterra."

Taking the towel from his butler when he returned, Demetri wrapped it around Isabella's shoulders, "I didn't even know you knew where I lived, or were even in the same country for that matter."

Gripping the towel in her hands and tightening it around her as she shivered again, Isabella whimpered a little, "you told me you lived outside Florence and I got your address off line and used the gps. Besides, no one does. I got in yesterday afternoon and went straight to Volterra without anyone finding out I was here." Looking back up at Demetri, "Uncle Aro is sick. He thought he had more time but he got really bad two days ago and the doctors don't think he has that much left."

Demetri's face fell a little as he sighed, "I'm sorry, Tesoro."

Isabella nodded a little in thanks before licking her lips, her gut in knots as she looked at him for another moment before gulping, "I need your help."

Holding a hand out to a door off the main hall, Demetri then led her to his in home office, "we can talk in here." As he was opening the door, Felix called out that the game was back on. Holding the door open, he turned to Felix who was standing in the living room doorway as Isabella passed him to go inside, "I'll catch the highlights later." With that, he went in his office and closed the door, flipping the lock because knowing Felix, he would barge in if given half the chance. Moving over to his desk, he picked up the remote starter to the fireplace and turned it on before grabbing two tumblers and pouring a drink for the clearly stressed out royal and himself.

While Demetri was doing that, Isabella gave the room she was taken to a onceover, taking in the floor to ceiling bookshelves behind the dark colored wooden desk to the left of the door. On the same wall as the door was a row of filing cabinets .On the wall right across from the door was the fireplace that had two chairs situated in front of it with a table between them and a painting of who she assumed were his parents hanging proudly above it. The room itself wasn't as big of an office as she was used to seeing, but it was still an impressive sight when you took in all the honors and first print covers that hung on the walls of all his accomplishments.

Picking up the glasses of whisky and walking around his desk, Demetri handed one to Isabella and, leaning against the front of his desk, he brought his own to his lip, "so, how can I help you, Izzy?"

Sighing a little, she drank the whole tumbler in one go, shuddering a little as the burn erupted in her chest as it slip down her throat. Taking a deep breath and letting it out through her nose as she set the empty glass down on the table by the fireplace, Isabella turned back to Demetri, dropping her eyes when she finally noticed he only had on a pair of black pajama pants and no shirt, wrapping the towel a little tighter around her, "we're friends, right?"

An amused smirk lifted Demetri's lips as a brow cocked a little, "I believe so, yes."

Heaving another hard breath and nodding a little, "so, because we're friends, that means you don't hate me, right?"

Brow rising a little higher, Demetri nodded his head a little, "yes."

Blinking a little and swallowing hard, she looked at him again, "and, because we're friends and you don't hate me, that means you kinda like me, right? Like, me Izzy and not just me Princess Isabella?" Seeing his brow lift just a little more and a slight nod, Isabella swallowed hard again, "maybe even care a little about what happens to me?"

Taking another drink of his whisky, Demetri grinned at her after swallowing it, his amusement to this line of questioning extremely clear, "I actually care a great deal about what happens to you, Izzy. However, I highly doubt you made that very long and very dangerous drive to ask me about our friendship status when you could have just called and asked. So, take a deep breath, relax and tell me what has you so upset so I can fix it."

Dropping her head back on her shoulders, she did just that before pulling a folded up piece of paper out of the top of her tank top and holding it out to him.

Setting his drink down and taking the offering, Demetri turned slightly and picked up a pair of reading glasses off his desk, putting them on and unfolding the paper, skimming most of it and knowing the moment he reached it what she was actually showing him. Seems there was a law in place stating that an unwed princess cannot take over the throne of Volterra. Sighing a little as he took off his glasses and tossing them back on his desk as well as setting the paper down, he shook his head, "that's rough, Tesoro, though not really all that surprising." Looking back at her, "back when that was written, arranged marriages and betrothment was common place. Unfortunately, nine hundred plus year old laws don't generally keep to the current times." Picking up his glass and bringing it to his lips, "did you have someone in mind or did you want my help in narrowing down the sutor pool?"

Wrapping the towel tighter around her, Isabella took a deep breath and blew it out through puckered lips and looked at Demetri, "you."

Demetri choked on the mouthful of whisky, spitting it back into his glass before his head shot up, shock clear on his face as he wiped his chin with the side of his hand, "me?"

Running the towel she was wrapped in across her nose, Isabella struggled with finding the words to explain her decision, tripping over her tongue with nearly every one. "Believe me, I know it's unfair and fucked up of me to ask you this, but, I just..." Shaking her head a little and lowering her eyes to the floor, "I... I don't, I mean..."

Demetri just stood there watching as Isabella tried to defend herself and flounder horribly. Suddenly, her line of questioning made a hell of a lot more sense. A little smile formed on his lips as she continued to try and explain herself.

Finally, she just closed her eyes and shook her head again, "never mind. Forget I said anything. I'm sorry."

Setting his glass on his desk and crossing his arms, Demetri cocked his brow again, "so, you won't hear my decision, then?"

Sighing hard and rubbing the towel on her face, "this is my problem to figure out and it really wasn't fair of me to put you in this position." Still looking at the floor, "I'm gonna go."

Clicking his tongue and looking out the window, Demetri pushed himself off his desk and slowly walked across the room, "pretty sure I said that wasn't going to happen until the storm let up, Tesoro. Besides," crooking a finger under her chin and lifting her face up so she would look at him, he smiled at her, "if you left right now, I wouldn't be able to do this."

Before Isabella was able to ask him what 'this' was, Demetri dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers, softly at first until the shock he seemed to give her wore off and she leaned into him a little. Sliding his hand from under her chin along her neck, he threaded his fingers into her hair, using his grip to tilt her head a little and gave her bottom lip a light nip, setting his other hand on her hip and pulling her tighter against him when she opened her mouth and granted him entrance.

Their tongues only played for a moment but it felt as if they had been locked in their passionate embrace for far longer when Demetri slowed it down and pulled back, looking down at Isabella with the most tender look on his face she had ever seen when she opened her eyes again.

A small crease drew between her brows as the corner on her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth before she sighed lightly, her voice soft, "you don't have to do this."

Smiling at her, Demetri nodded a little, "I know, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Out of every one you could have chosen, I was the lucky one you picked. I would be an idiot to say no. Especially when I remember, very clearly, what you said happened to those that begin to throw that word around and I happen to like my face exactly as it is."

Pressing her lips together to smother her smile, she snorted softly as she laid her forehead against his chest, "thank you, Demetri. I have no idea what I would have done if you would have said no. I just really hope you don't end up regretting this."

Running his fingers through her hair, "It'll be fine, Tesoro. You just worry too much."

Heaving a little sigh, Isabella looked up at him, "do you want to tell your friends now or after we talk to my uncles?"

Smirking a little, Demetri lowered his voice and dipped his head and whispered in her ear, "they already know." When he saw her confusion and start to open her mouth to ask how, he covered her mouth with one hand and brought a finger to his lips telling her to be quiet for a moment before he pulled away from her and silently made his way to the door. Looking over his shoulder, he winked at her as he grabbed the lock and door knob, before turning the both at the same and pulling the door open, jumping back as Felix, Afton, Corin, Alec and Jane all fell to the floor. Looking over at his bride to be, Demetri grinned, "because they are a bunch of nosy little fuckers and have never had a clear understanding of the word," looking down at his friends who were looking at him with varying looks of sheepishness, "privacy."

Isabella looked at Demetri for a moment before looking at the dogpile on Felix, her face the picture of annoyance as she crossed her arm under the towel she was still wrapped in, "seriously? Are you kidding me? If shit wasn't fucking awkward enough, you were listening? I should kick the crap out of all of you."

Felix pushed himself up to his hands and knees before shoving everyone off him and stood up, dusting himself off and grinned like an idiot, "yeah, yeah, yeah. You can kick me in shins later, Izzy. For now, we got an engagement to celebrate."

*X*

The next morning, Isabella groaned and shoved her head under her pillow when some mean mother fucker opened the draps in the room she didn't even remember going to.

Demetri chuckled a little as he walked over to the bed and jumped on it, lying stretched out next to Isabella with his head propped up with his hand. Poking her in the ribs, "how are you feeling, My Lady Majesty?"

From under the pillow there was another pained moan before the muffled voice of the hungover princess came out, "what... the fuck... happened last night?"

Smirking a little, Demetri took the pillow away and then threw it across the room when she went to grab for it. Humming in his throat, "well, after you randomly showed up on my front steps, you asked me to marry you, I said yes, and Felix got you hammered."

Pushing herself up on her forearms, turning to look at him through squinted eyes and the rat's nest that was her hair, she nodded like that was the most normal answer to that question in the known universe because her head hurt too bad to let the words sink in. "Is that all? Alright. I'm going back to sleep." Sadly though, that plan was destroyed when she reached for the blanket to pull over her head and it was very rudely ripped out of her grasp. Looking down to the foot of the bed where Demetri stood with her blanket still in his hands, she tried to glare at him but she knew it carried no weight. "You fucking suck, know that?"

Demetri just grinned at her, knowing that there was about to be one hell of show once last night resurfaced in the poor girl's mind. "Rise and shine, Princess. There is fresh coffee and breakfast in the kitchen. You clothes have been washed and are ready for you after you get out of the shower and then I must get you home. Your Uncle Caius has called you four times so far this morning and I do believe if you do not show up soon, or at least return one of his calls, he just might kill you."

Rolling over onto her back and scrubbing her hands up and down her face, she then sat up and dropped her head into her palms, "it really wouldn't be that difficult right now. A newborn baby could kill me at the moment." Looking at herself, she noticed that she was in a pair of what she guessed to be Demetri's pajama pants and t-shirt.

Chuckling a little. Demetri cocked his head a bit, "aww, my poor princess. I believe you have just learned the most valuable lesson you can at your age. Never accept a drinking challenge against a man twice your size."

Grunting a little as bits and pieces of the night flashed through her mind, she looked up at him, "did I at least win?"

Shaking his head in the negative, Demetri gave her an understanding smile, "no, Tesoro. He kicked the shit out of you. But, I can't even beat Felix shot for shot. However, you did hold your own for quite a awhile longer than anyone thought you were going to considering you weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet and haven't drank like that before if that is any consolation."

Moving to the side of the bed and slowly standing up, she groaned again before turning to Demetri, "not really, no." Stretching her arms above her head, "bathroom?" When she was pointed to the right door, she was about halfway there when she froze, her brain finally waking up enough to replay his words from before. Blinking as she stared at the door, "Demetri?"

There was amusement in his voice, "yes?"

"Did you say I asked you to marry me?"

The amusement was not gone. "Yes."

"And did you say you said yes?"

Demetri grinned wide and crossed his arm, "and Felix got you hammered, yes."

One of Isabella's arms crossed over her chest as her other hand came up and covered her mouth, her eyes darting all over the room before she turned wide green eyes over her shoulder and stared at Demetri. Behind her hand, she whispered slowly, "oh my god." After a moment, she cocked her head and dropped her arm, "are you sure?"

Looking up at the ceiling as if he was thinking about it, he nodded, "yes, pretty sure."

Brows drawing down a little and head tilting a little more, "just like that? Like, no thinking about it, no dating, none of that?"

Tisking with a slow nod, Demeti moved across the room and stood in front of her, "no. I actually intend to take you out quite often over the next while."

At that, Isabella raised a finger, "there is a little problem with that. See, when I came to Italy this time, it was before I knew about the whole 'girls can't rule on their own' thing so I didn't plan on having to do everything that that entails. I have a shit ton of crap back overseas to deal with before I come here for good. A lot of it I can do here but even more of it I can't, so I am going to have to go back to America at least one more time before all that can happen. Besides, no one other than your friends know and there is not a single person that will believe them if you decide that you changed your mind and want to wait and find someone to marry because you actually love them. I said last night I'll figure this out if you want to back out."

Clasping his hands behind his back and sighing a little, Demetri shook his head, "sounds like I might have to take some time off work. Oh, damn it." Looking back at her, that same tender expression from the night before slid onto his features as he brought one of his hands out from behind him and took her hand, lifting it up, palm to palm with his, looking at them a moment before closing his hand, lacing their fingers together, "when I agreed to your request last night, I knew there was no obligation on my part to do so, you made that perfectly clear. You also, many times last night, told me I can change my mind at any time before the set date and you wouldn't hold it against me.

"So, since you got to say your piece, I now get to say mine. I agreed because I wanted to, not because I felt I had to. Besides, Lord Aro is still alive and there is a two week mourning period after his death before another two weeks of coronation festivities before there would be a wedding anyways. We have time, Tesoro, to do all the things that a normal couple would do before they get married before we do. I told you last night it will fine and it will be. You, My Lady, just need to relax a little."

Licking her lips before worrying on the bottom one, she sighed a little, "you don't feel cheated out of your chance to find your other half?"

A challenging brow lifted on Demetri's face all the way to his hairline, "do you?"

Looking up through her lashes and shrugging, "it doesn't matter. You're the one that has repeatedly told me that you are who you are and this, in all its pain in the assary, is me. You have the chance to marry someone you are head over heels for, years down the road if you want. I have two weeks plus however long Uncle Aro has left. You have choices..."

Demetri cut her off at that point, just not able to take anymore. "Three dates."

Blinking a little at the randomness those two words sounded like to her, she jolted, "huh?"

Giving her a serious look, Demetri licked his lips a little, "three dates, each two days apart. That gives you six days to come up with a better excuse than that for me to change my mind about this since you seem so hell bent on doing so. If by the end of the third date you can't, I put a ring on your finger and you shut the hell up and just accept the fact that I might just happen to like you."

Stuttering a little, she shook her head, "Demetri..."

Cutting her off again, "see, this is what I think is the reason you are having such an issue with this. Tell me if this sounds familiar. You found out about that age old law, freaked out and went to the first person you thought of and now you are second guessing that rushed decision. Sound about right?" When he saw a very subtle nod, he cocked his head to the side, "thought so. Now, here is that same scenario from my point of view. I know for fact that there are plenty of other people in your life that you have have known far longer than me, yet I was the first one you thought highly enough of to come to when you found out about that age old law.

"So, now that you see this as I do, the deal is on the table. Three dates, six days and then the _choice_ is yours over whether or not we proceed, because," moving the hand he was still holding between their faces and pointing to her bare ring finger, "until there is a ring on this little finger right here, this is a courtship. You have to say yes to me and agree to wear a ring I put there before this becomes an engagement. You're freaking out over terminology that is not even in play."

Rubbing the back of her neck with the hand that was not being held, Isabella made a little noise in her throat, "but..."

Cutting her off yet again, this time with a hard sigh, "alright, we'll do this your way, Tesoro." Looking her dead in the eyes, "will you be my girlfriend?"

Choking on her tongue a little, she just kinda gave him a half smile, half 'what the fuck' look, "what?"

Demetri just cocked a brow and smirked at her, "you asked me to be your husband. I don't think that me asking you to be my girlfriend first should really be that big of a deal. Besides, you're the one freaking over titles and terms. I am simply trying to prove a point here, Izzy. Just because the speed of the relationship is going to move a little faster than most doesn't mean that it has to be seen any different than any other. We date, _I_ ask _you_ to marry me and only if you accept, we get married. You might be bound to law and time, Tesoro, but you still have the choice. No one can take that away from you."

Dropping her head against Demetri's chest, Isabella sighed, "think there is any chance I can pull a Princess Diaries and talk my Uncles into changing that stupid law?"

Demetri snorted a little as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and set his chin on the top of her head, "no, Izzy, not at all. That's a movie, this is not. It is what it is, like it or not." After a few minutes he pulled back and lifted her head up by a finger under her chin, and gave her a small smile, "I'll buy you your first monkey if you smile for me."

He knew she tried her damnedest not to show any amount of excitement over the offer but the way her eyes lit up as she pressed her lips together to keep from grinning at the thought of training monkeys to bite the general population told him that she actually did, very much, want a pet monkey.

Grinning at her a little, he turned her to the bathroom door and gave her a little push, "go get cleaned up and I'll take you home. After we talk to your uncles, we'll look into getting you a monkey."

Looking over her shoulder with a smile on her face, "a howler?"

Wrinkling his nose and shaking his head, "hell no. I'll kill the fucker within a week if your uncles don't beat me to it." When she started pouting a little, Demetri pointed to the door, "that shit doesn't work on me. Go."

Huffing as her bottom lip jutted out, "you're no fun."

Demetri just smirked and winked at her before walking out of the room so she could get a shower.


	6. Chapter 6

Looking up from the stack of papers he was filling out, Aro leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a moment before he looked at the ones that knocked on his door. "I can't say I'm at all surprised to see you, Master De Luca." Holding a hand out to the seats across from his, he waited for Demetri and Isabella to have a seat and removed the oxygen tube from his nose. Rubbing between his eyes a little, he took a little breath, "what can I do for you two?"

Isabella bit her lip a little at the paleness of her uncle. Looking at him with a concerned look, "how are you feeling, Uncle Aro? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Coughing a little before clearing his throat, Aro shook his head a little, "paperwork doesn't do itself, Stella, though life would be much easier if it did. If you don't want to inherit a mess the devil himself couldn't conjure up, it's necessary for me to get this done."

Pressing her lips together a little, Isabella shook her head, "I hate how easily you talk about this."

Giving her an understanding smile, Aro nodded, "I know, Dearheart. But, death is an unfortunate side effect of life. Since the beginning, the mortality rate has always stood at one hundred percent and will continue to until the end. Simple facts of nature and the circle we all follow from cradle to grave. For the time being though, I am still here and I still have a job to do so that when I am not, you can then do yours." Then he looked over at Demetri, his smile turning into a smirk, "and I can only guess as to your presence, Demetri. When Isabella took off the way she did last night, I figured we would be seeing you soon enough."

Settling into his seat a little more, Aro laced his fingers over his stomach, "I take it Isabella told you about the situation she has found herself in?" When Demetri nodded at him, he smiled, "and you said, what?"

Looking into the king's knowing eyes, Demetri smiled a little, "yes."

Nodding, Aro opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out eighteen year old documents and grabbed his pen. Looking at his niece, "Isabella?" When she nodded once, he sighed his name on the dotted line before looking back at the young couple in front of him and cleared his throat a little, "I never thought I would actually sign this."

Lifting higher in her seat to try and get a look at the paper, Isabella leaned forward, "what?"

Smiling a little and picking it up, he held it out to her, "the betrothment document both of your parents filled out when you were one and three." Smiling at his niece when her head shot back up, "seems your mother really could see the future after all. She said then that you two would be together at some point and it would simply save time to have that ready since I refused to sign it back then because you were not going to be raised where this kind of thing was common."

Isabella dropped back into her seat, holding the paper where Demetri could see it too and sure the fuck enough, both of her parent's signatures were on the document. Turning to each other, shock was just about the only thing that could define what they felt.

Demetri reached over and took the document from Isabella's slackening fingers, starting from the beginning and giving it a skim since he didn't have his glasses with him before shaking his head a little, "they never told me about this."

Isabella grunted a little as she crossed her arms, "I know the feeling." Looking up at her uncle, "if our parents wanted this to happen eighteen years ago, why didn't they try and introduce us over the years?"

Aro shrugged a bit, "I wouldn't let them. I told you, it had to do with the fact that you were not being raised here and to arrange a marriage between the two of you, when you lived in America and Demetri lived here, would have been unfair to you both. When you take into account the fact that there would have been an ocean between you, how could anyone tell two children, that would maybe see each other once a year, to pledge themselves to each other and then deny them the chance to got to know one another?

"While you would have done it because you were told to, I know for a fact it wouldn't have been without extreme anger over it and in the end, when it would have been time for you to marry, you would have both harbored a seed of hate for other which would have been extremely counterproductive in the relationship. Now, if you look at the actual happenings of the past eighteen years, you have only just met a little over a month ago because neither one of you were ever at the Honorary Ball the same years due to the goings on of your lives and while you ended up getting along and forming a friendship, that very easily could have been very different and I wouldn't force my niece to marry someone she hated."

Pausing a moment when he was overcome with a coughing fit, Aro held up a hand to stave off Isabella when she got out of her seat. Grabbing his oxygen tube and replacing it under his nose, he took a few deep breaths and cleared his throat a little. "Now, as it stands at this moment, you two are in agreeance over the arrangement, yes?" When he saw them both nod, he smiled, "wonderful. When shall I make the announcement?"

Isabella looked over at Demetri and gave him a look that clearly told him he was taking the lead on this, the little spark of doubt in her eyes telling him that she still didn't think he wouldn't end up changing his mind.

Rolling his eyes a little, Demetri looked at Aro, "when we discussed this earlier this morning, it was decided that there would be three dates over the course of the next week. At the end of the third, should My Lady Majesty be unable to think of a better excuse than my giving up future choices in who I would take as my bride to change my mind on my agreeing, I will make the formal proposal to her then."

Aro smirked a little at the light glare his niece sent Demetri at his explanation and the playful smirk he shot back at her. The two certainly got on well enough to give him a spark of hope that this might actually work out for the two because if it didn't, either he would be forced to choose her future husband or, if he dies before there is a formal engagement, nearly one thousand years of a Volturi sitting on the throne of the Volterra would come to an end. So long as there is at least the formal proposal before he dies, the wedding itself can be put on hold for a little while so long as she marries the one he had agreed to.

Isabella just glared at Demetri for another moment before growling a little in her throat, "you Sir, are an asshole."

Demetri grinned a little with a chuckle, "did I lie?"

Narrowing her eyes a little more, "not the point. Seriously, just gonna throw that shit out there, just like that? Really? I'm gonna punch you."

Shaking his head a little and tsking lightly, Demetri turned back to Aro, "violent little thing, isn't she?"

Growling a little harder, "Demetri."

Looking at his future bride with a grin, "yes?"

Aro decided to cut in at that point, "please, Stella, no blood stains on my carpet."

Shifting her eyes to her uncle, Isabella then moved them back to Demetri, "run."

Aro watched as the young couple ran out of his office, chuckling slightly at the sight as he picked up his pen to finish the last few pages of his will before he retired for the evening, snorting hard when he heard a shriek of 'put me down' by his niece a few moments later. Shaking his head a little, Aro sighed as he filled in the section of succession, naming Demetri De Luca as his heir should his current heiress not be bound by a formal engagement prior to his death.

*X*

If Isabella thought that it had been Demetri's plan to wine and dine her over the three dates, she was sadly mistaken. He did buy her dinner on their first date, but it wasn't in a restaurant. There was a fair going on just outside Florence that he had taken her to where they had corndogs, rode the rides and got in a popcorn fight over who was going to raise the fish they won. In the end, Demetri got custody of the fish and Isabella got the caricature and the fluorescent green stuffed monkey.

For their second date, again with the unconventional, Demetri took her to nightclub that actually turned into a double date type thing when Felix and his girlfriend Heidi showed up about an hour after they did. While it was extremely apparent that Isabella was not a fan in any way, shape or form of Heidi's, she didn't allow the stupid little twit to ruin her night out. If anything, she took an evil little pleasure at the way Heidi's face pinched or darkened every time Demetri draped his arm over her shoulders or whispered something in her ear. If Felix was dumb enough not to notice that his girlfriend was more interested in his best friend that she was him, it wasn't really Isabella's place to tell him. However, due to the fact that she really did like the big son of a bitch, she did end up being the little birdy and letting him on what she saw.

When Felix asked her if she wanted to dance, Isabella smiled a little and stood up, taking his arm when he presented it to her, and let him lead her to the dance floor. While the two of them were doing a modified version of the salsa, Isabella glanced over to where they were seated and nodded, "hey, Felix. Take a look over there."

Doing as instructed, Felix's eyes narrowed a little as his girlfriend moved from the couch across from Demetri to sitting nearly on his lap, Demetri looking at her like she was out of her mind and moving over a little in response. Lip curling a little as he twirled the princess to the beat, "the fuck?"

Kicking her leg up as she was dipped, "she's been giving him googly eyes all night." After a spin out, she looked up at him once they were facing each other again, "honestly, I'm about ready to knock them out of her fucking head. I'm even going to ignore the fact that he's here with me at the moment. From what I have seen, you're a great guy and I don't want to see you being played like this otherwise I wouldn't have said anything."

Felix looked down at the princess, blinking a little at the compliment, "you're too kind, Your Grace."

Isabella rolled her eyes a little as she was twirled again. "I'm serious, Felix. As a matter of fact, I know quite a few girls back in America that would give their right arm for a guy like you and that little hussy is all but dry humping your best friend's leg and we're still ignoring the fact that Demetri is here with me. How you deal with your girl is up to you. I just felt you had a right to know your girlfriend is a slut." With one more twirl and dip to the last beat of the song, Felix lifted Isabella back to her feet, the princess smiling and giving a little wave at the applause she and Felix received for the performance everyone stopped to watch, before looking up at him with a smirk. "Now we are no longer ignoring the fact that Demetri is here with me."

Felix just chuckled a little as he followed after the skipping princess, whispering under his breath, "go get your man, Kitten." Even if the princess still wasn't sure about Demetri's ultimate decision on the arrangement between them, Felix knew for a fact that at the end of the third date he was going to be putting a ring on Izzy's finger. Never mind the fact the fucker hadn't shut up about her over the last month, but the day before, Felix had gone with Demeti to the jeweler's to pick up said ring after getting it resized to fit the princess' tiny little hand.

So really, it wasn't Demetri's final decision that was in question. It was the princess'.

Bouncing up the steps, Isabella had no fucks to give about the way this was going to be taken. Twirling in a circle with a giggle, Isabella plopped her little ass down on Demetri's lap, her back to the little hussy, and wrapped her arms around Demetri's neck. Looking up at him with a beaming smile, "this is so much fun. Thanks for bringing me here. When you first suggested it, I won't lie, I was a little skeptical about it, but now, thanks for not letting me talk you out of it."

A tender yet amused look settled on Demetri's face as he wrapped one arm around Isabella's back to keep her from falling and, after replacing her tiara on her head, draped the other her thighs, "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Tesoro. I was a little worried myself with the way you protested at first."

Readjusting her crown, Isabella just giggled a little again before pressing her lips to Demetri's cheek. After she pulled back, knowing that their conversation was having extra close attention payed to it from right behind her, she grinned, "so, first the carnival, then a night out dancing. I can't wait to see what our last date is." Eyes going a little wide, "speaking of, how are our kids? You are taking good care of them, right?" She barely managed to suppress the smirk at the noise that came from the bitch as her choice of words.

Demetri just chuckled, "they're doing just fine, Tesoro. I am positive they are just as anxious to find out if Mommy and Daddy are going to make us all one big happy family." Then he cocked his head a little, "although, Rex is a little troublemaker and is always goading his sisters. I think that boy needs a good lecture from his Momma."

Isabella just waved a hand in a dismissive wave, "boys will be boys and pick on their sisters. I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. Chances are, the girls are going to grow up and beat his ass if we just give them the chance."

Demetri hummed a little, "perhaps you're right. I suppose we'll just have to keep an eye on the situation so we can step in if necessary."

Isabella poked the tip of Demetri's nose, "and now, you're thinking like a Volturi. From stories I have been told over the years, my uncles used to pick on my mom like they were paid to do it. Then one day, she got fed up and broke Uncle Caius' nose. They didn't pick on her much after that."

Demetri chuckled lightly as he set his forehead against Izzy's and locked his eyes on hers, "good for her."

Smiling a little as she looked at him, Isabella caught a flash out of the corner of her eye, glancing over and seeing a photographer standing at the top of the steps. Smiling a little, Isabella pressed her forehead harder against Demetri's before turning both their heads to face the camera. Leaning more into him, she giggled a little, "smile, Dem."

Demetri's head snapped back to look at her profile as the use of his shortened name. A slight grin pulled at his lips as he only turned partially back to the camera, looking at it out of the corner of his eye as he tightened his hold on his princess.

Taking his time this picture since the princess and Master De Luca were actually posing for him, the cameraman repositioned himself a little for better lighting and to get the girl that was trying to get her face in the picture out of it before snapping the shot.

Once there was a flash, Isabella jumped out of Demetri's lap before hopping over to the camera man and looked at him with a smile, "can I see?"

Blinking a little at her, the cameraman grinned a little, "of course, Your Highness." Flipping the option on the camera so she could view the picture, he handed the camera over and let her flip through them.

Cocking her head a little as she snuck a little peek at the other pictures that were taken that night, she wrinkled her nose at a few and smiled at others. Humming a little, she looked at the guy, "you're really good at taking moving pictures and catching the image you're after." Holding the camera out for him to take back, "do you have a card I can have?"

Starting at the request, he nodded just the same, pulling one of his cards out of his wallet and handing it to the future queen, his shocked expression still in place, "absolutely, Your Highness. And, thank you for your kind words."

Giggling a little as she slipped the card into her boot, Isabella smiled at the man, "I don't say anything I don't mean. Expect a call from my uncle in the next few days."

Blinking a little, "Your Highness?"

Grinning wide and shaking her head, "I want to use to use your services so, just expect that call." As she was turning back to Demetri, she lifted her hand and held up a finger, glancing over her shoulder at the cameraman as he too was turning away, "oh, and, use the first one you took. I like it better." Once she gave her request to the picture that was going to be on the front page of the paper come morning, she turned back and retook her seat in Demetri's lap.

Setting a hand on Isabella's knee and once again wrapping the other around her back, Demetri cocked a brow at her, "what was that about?"

Isabella shrugged a little, "the man can take an amazing photo so I want to use him for our photographer."

Brow rising to his hairline, Demetri cocked his head to the side, "for what?"

Scratching the back of her head, Isabella shrugged a little, "I know I was supposed to be thinking of a reason for you to change your mind about your decision, but I kinda forgot to put a lot of effort into it so don't expect me to have one at the ready for you in two days, cause I won't. You're still the only one I would consider going to into this with and the more we hang out, the less I want you to reconsider. So, the long and the short of it is..."

Demetri leaned forward, cutting her off mid-sentence with a kiss. It didn't last long and it didn't get out of control, though it took some serious effort on his part to keep it simple. After a moment or so, he pulled back and set his forehead to hers. "Marry me."

Isabella blinked a few times at the abruptness of both the kiss and the question. Her eyes were a little dazed and her voice was airy. "Okay." Blinking again, she giggled lightly. "Although, I am kinda curious as to how you were going to ask in two days."

Snorting a little, Demetri shrugged a shoulder, "it wasn't anything special. I had planned on taking you to the coast and asking on the beach, but a hot, sweaty nightclub works for me." Pulling away slightly, he reached over to his jacket that was hanging over the arm of the couch and pulled the box out of his inner pocket, opening it with one hand and showing her the ring that was inside. "This was my grandmother's. She hated my father so when he asked my grandfather permission to marry my mother, she refused to let him give it to her and instead left it to me to give to my bride." Taking it out of the satin liner, he took her left hand and slipped it on her ring finger before lifting his eyes to meet hers again, smiling at the slight look of shock on her face.

Isabella looked at the ring on her finger, in awe at the simple beauty of it. Really, she had kinda expected some gaudy fucking thing but this was perfect in her opinion. Collectively there was probably a carat and a half worth of clear diamonds around the white gold band with a quarter carat maltese cut pink one in the center. Looking back up at Demetri, she whispered, "it's beautiful, Demi."

At the nickname, a contemplative look overtook Demetri's face for a moment before he just grinned a little, "that one might take some getting used to again. I haven't heard it since I was a kid." Chuckling a little at her shrug, he leaned forward again and pressed his lips to his official fiance's.


	7. Chapter 7

When Demetri pulled up to the steps of the Volterra palace to drop off Isabella, she turned and looked at him, a small smile on her face. "Since it's so late, do you just want to stay here tonight instead of making the over an hour drive home?" Shrugging a little at the cocked brow she was given, "well, you gotta be here in the morning to tell Uncle Aro that this is an official engagement anyways. Why make the drive just to have to be back in five hours?"

Chuckling a little, Demetri cut the engine before getting out of the car, tossing his keys to the guard that was standing at the foot of the steps before opening Isabella's door, holding out a hand to her to help her out of the car as the guard got in the driver's seat to park it elsewhere for the night.

Linking her arm through his, Isabella led Demetri through the halls to what had basically become her wing of the palace, stopping at a door across the hall from hers and opening it, leaning against the wood and smiling up at him, "breakfast is at seven."

Smirking a little and humming a sound of acknowledgment, Demetri dipped his head and pressed a light kiss to her lips before pulling back with a smile, "see you in the morning, My Lady."

Rolling her eyes with a grin, "yeah. Good night Demetri." With that, she shook her head a little and left, closing the door behind her, leaning against it for a moment and, with a light sigh, pushed off and walked the ten feet to her door.

After changing into her pajamas, Isabella decided to stop ignoring the fact that she was starving and went down to the kitchen to find something to snack on before going to bed. Digging around in the fridge, she had just popped a handful of grapes in her mouth when she heard a commotion behind her, making her jump out of her skin with a yelp and choke on the grapes in her mouth.

Pounding a fist on her chest, she ran to the sink and spit up the handful of grapes before panting a little and turning around, leaning back against the sink, pressing her hand back to her chest, "you scared the shit out of me, Uncle Aro." After shaking her head a little, she sighed before smiling a little, "this time there is no paperwork excuse. It's after two in the morning. You should be in bed."

Aro nodded a little as he sat down at the table, giving his niece a tender look, "I'll get there, Stella."

Giving him a bigger smile, she turned to the counter for the tea kettle, looking over her shoulder, "want some tea? It might help you get some sleep." When she saw him a nod a little, Isabella set about making a pot of tea, going over to the fridge when the water was on to boil and pulling out the bowl of grapes she nearly died over and set them on the table before grabbing the tea leaves, bells and cups. Once the kettle whistled, she grabbed a pot holder and the water before sitting down at the table herself and mixed up two cups of tea. Smiling over the rim of her glass, "do you have a lot of trouble sleeping, Uncle Aro?"

Picking up his cup, Aro sighed a little, "at times. Normally when stress rears and I recall the millions of things I have yet to complete in the time I have to left to do so. The papers to sign, the arrangements to organize. There are thirty hours worth of work to be done a day and not that many to be found."

Biting her lip a little, Isabella cocked her head, "I can help you, Uncle Aro. I mean, I do need to learn how to do this and it would be better, I think, to be taught over trial and error."

Aro hummed a little as he took a drink of his tea. Tisking after swallowing, "while I would agree with that, Stella, do you not already have a million things of your own to accomplish as well? You have to close out your life in America over the next few weeks. You have finals next week so that you can transfer your credits over here so you can complete your studies. You have another outing with Demetri in two days and, depending on how that ends, there will be a wedding to plan and all the wonderful bullshit that goes along with that. Plus, Dearheart, even should I pass before you can complete your own to do list, you do still have Marcus and Caius here to guide you through the learning process, as well as the aid of Demetri should it be needed."

Biting the corner of her lip, a smile pulling at her lips, Isabella lifted her eyes to her uncle, "well, one thing can already be taking off that list you named."

Cocking a brow at her, "Oh? And what would that be, Stella?"

Showing him her left hand, she looked at her ring for a moment before looking back, "Demetri asked me tonight."

Leaning back in his seat, Aro smirked a little, "did he now?"

Nodding a bit, "as weird of a place to ask someone to marry you as a nightclub is, it was just the right moment, I guess. The topic had gotten brought up after a photographer had taken our picture. He asked and I accepted. We were going to tell you guys in the morning." Head popping up, "speaking of, that also gives me one less thing to worry about when planning this. I got the card of the guy from the club after I took a look through his camera tonight. I'll give it to you in the morning but I want him as the photographer for the wedding. He is like, crazy good."

Smiling wide at her, Aro chuckled, "whatever you want, Stella. And of course you have my congratulations as well. Demetri is a fine young man, but, Isabella, are you positive about this? Once I make the announcement tomorrow, you cannot change your mind."

Sighing a little, Isabella nodded, "I'm sure. You always told me to never question my first judgement, ever since I was little. When I found out about that stupid fucking law the other day, I didn't even think about what I was doing when I went to his house. I won't lie and say I didn't the next day, but," pausing to shake her head a little, "He's the only one I would even consider. He's the only one besides Felix that I know for a fact likes me for who I am and not what I am." Taking a drink of her tea, she smiled a little, "besides, I do actually like the guy so that's a plus right? We have years ahead of us to work on the other shit." Lowering her eyes to her tea, she shrugged a little, "the only thing I'm worried about is how easy things are with him. Everything just seems to fall into place and fit perfectly with no effort on our parts."

Tilting his head a little, Aro licked his lips, "I would think this would be a good thing."

A look settled on Isabella's face that Aro couldn't decipher when she snorted and shook her head. Lifting her eyes again, "you'd be wrong. Things with my ex-boyfriend started the same way and let me tell you, they didn't end well. When we finally came to a head about a year ago, it was like world war three, it went nuclear. Things were said, there were threats made. I broke his fucking arm because he backhanded me and cracked my cheek bone in the process." Snorting a little and propping her chin in her hand, "we went almost two years without so much as a disagreement and now, we can't even stand the sight of each other. My fear over this is things with Demetri and I ending up the same way. The difference is, if they do, it's not going to be quite as easy to walk away from."

By the time she was finished with her story, Aro's face had darkened no small degree. This was the first he had ever heard of some little son of a bitch striking his niece, and if he didn't know, his brothers didn't either. Setting his teacup down, Aro dipped his head and forced Isabella to look him in the eyes. Once she did, "Isabella, Dearheart, before you are anything else, you are my Little Stella and will always be, title and position be damned. I told you, I will not force you marry anyone. I would sooner see the crown pass on to a different line of power than see you tied up in knots and worry. All I want is for you to be happy, Stella, that's all.

"The position you are in is not a fair one, I know that and I hate that I was the one to put you in it. So, this is what I want you to do for me. Sleep on your decision tonight and if in the morning you feel the same and wish to proceed, let me know and I will make the announcement, but if there is even a single doubt in your mind saying that this is not what you want, then I will not. I do not care either way you decide so long as your decision is made because it is what you WANT and not what you feel you HAD to do. Arranged or not, the marriage you enter into is a commitment and that commitment needs be entered with the desire to be in it or it will never work."

Isabella swallowed hard before dropping her eyes, "is that why things between you and Sulpicia didn't work out?"

Aro actually shuddered a little at the mention of his ex wife. Shaking his head, he grunted, "That woman was the absolute worst mistake of my life. When we married, it was out of duty to my crown and every single day since, I have regretted the decision not to say no when I knew I should have. Very shortly after I discovered my inability to have children and before I had the chance to tell her of this, she comes to me and tells me she's pregnant. I remember a flash of hope that the doctors were mistaken up until she tells me how far along she was. I wasn't even in the same country she was at the time of conception. I was in America to see you being brought into the world and was there for a month.

"Your mother, when she came to the ball that year, was ready to go ten rounds with the Devil himself to get her hands around my ex wife's neck. Anyways, neither her nor I entered that marriage with the dedication we should have and, though I was faithful until the divorce was final, she had never been because she didn't like not having the choice. That, My Little Stella, is why I wouldn't allow the betrothment between you and Demetri when you were children because I was you at one time and I wouldn't see you go through what I did and I still will not. The choice is yours to make now and will always be. Your dedication is to you, not a chair and heavy as hell headpiece that you do not even like to wear."

Once he was done talking, Isabella sat there, leaning back in her seat, turning her cup from side to side and rubbed it between her hands. After a few minutes of silence, she nodded and finished her tea before sighing hard, "I promise I will give this a hard look before I make my final decision tomorrow." Scrubbing her face in her hands, she licked her lips and stood up, "I'm gonna go to bed. Do you need anything first?"

Aro shook his head a little, "no, Stella. I'm fine. Get some rest and I will see you in the morning."

After kissing her uncle on the cheek, Isabella left the kitchen and headed back up to her room. When she got to the room she had put Demetri in, she bit her lip a little before rolling her shoulders and turning the handle, knocking on it as she pushed it open. Yes, she had some thinking to do, but she also had a few very important questions for the man that were going to carry a lot of weight on what she decided.

Biting her lip a little, she cleared her throat and let out a breath before calling out, "Demetri, are you still up?"

Demetri was just stretched out on the bed, one knee bent with his foot on the bed, a hand under his head and had his eyes closed but he wasn't sleeping. So, when he heard the door and then the softly asked question, he cracked an eye open and nodded, "yes, I'm up." Propping himself on his forearms, he turned to face the Princess when she just stood in the doorway. "Are you alright, Tesoro?"

Looking down for a second, Isabella glanced up through her lashes, "can we talk?"

Lifting himself to sit all the way up, Demetri leaned over and turned on the lamp next to the bed, blinking at the brightness a few times before moving over and patting the stop next to him, "of course."

Nodding a little, Isabella shut the door and walked across the room, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and turning to face Demetri, crossing her legs and draping her arms over her thighs. Taking a moment to figure out where to start, she tisked a little before cocking her head, "why did you really agree to this? I mean, originally when I first asked at your house."

Demetri chuckled a little as he looked up at the ceiling, shaking his head a bit before looking back at her, "you really are hell bent on trying to talk me out of this, aren't you?"

Shaking her head a little, "no. I just want to know why."

Grinning a little, Demetri clicked his tongue a few times as he looked at her, "I already answered that, Izzy. So, since you seem to not believe me anyways, why did you say yes to me tonight if you are having so many issues with it? What is the real problem?"

Looking away for a moment and blowing a hard breath out, she looked back, "it's too easy. Easy shouldn't happen. There should be problems and disagreements and all that happy horse shit. It should be hard, there should be work involved and there's not. It's too easy."

Changing his position so he was sitting the same way she was, directly across from her, he cocked a brow, "easy isn't bad, Izzy."

"You're right. Easy is horrible."

Tilting his head, Demetri narrowed his eyes a little, "what aren't you telling me?"

Dropping her head into her hands, Isabella rubbed her eyes before sliding her fingers into her hair and looking through her lashes and bangs, "remember the jackass I told you about the night we met?" When Demetri nodded, she gulped a little, "in the beginning with him, it was a lot like this, simple, easy, nearly perfect. It lasted like that for two years before it exploded into all out nuclear war. It was... indescribably horrific for three months before the final fallout devastated the battlefield when I said enough was enough. We were both absolutely miserable, we could barely be in the same place at the same time without a fight breaking out. When I waved the white flag a year ago, when I called it quits, he went fucking postal. There were things said that night that never should have been, there were threats hurled like water balloons at a kid's birthday party with zero care. When I turned to just walk away and let it be as it was, he told me it would never be over until he said it was. When I told him otherwise, he cracked my cheek with the back of his hand."

Demetri's head, that had been down as he listened, shot up at that last sentence. Locking eyes with her, "excuse me?"

Nodding a little, Isabella licked her lips, "yeah, you heard that right. So, after he broke my cheek, I broke his fucking arm in two places. After everything came to end, the fallout of that came crashing down around us, we can't even look at each other anymore without literally visualizing the very painful death of the other." Swallowing hard and looking back up, "that's what easy turns into. I don't like easy and this is easy. This is easier than that ever was. This is almost natural easy and I'm scared this will end up like that."

Turning his head to the side, Demetri nodded a little, his face colored in a mixture of irritation and a dark anger, "uh huh. So, the root of the issue is, you're afraid that I will also lose my temper to the point that I would actually harm you."

Isabella was quick to shake her head, "no, that's not what I said. In telling you what happened the last time I had easy, I was trying to get the point across that easy doesn't end well. It doesn't matter if there is actual violence or not. What the root of the issue is, I don't want to not want to be around you because I want to kill you. I'm not worried things between us will end up like that because you would disappear long before it got there, Uncle Caius would see to that personally." Running her hand down her face, she looked back at Demetri and licked her lips a little, "Look, I'm all in this, but, you need to know that I don't handle easy well, not anymore and after the month I've had where everyone wants to be my best friend when I have never seen them before in my life, I..."

Demetri cut her off at that, "want reassurance that I have no ulterior motives with this." Sighing a little when he saw her looking up at him with glossy eyes, he scratched between his brows with the tip of a finger, "I can understand that, Tesoro, really, I can. But eventually, you are going to just have to accept the fact that I do actually care about you. And, not to sound like an asshole, but I'm probably going to, what am I really gaining from this that I don't already have?"

When Isabella didn't say anything, Demetri lifted a hand, crooking a finger under her chin and lifted her head up to face him, a tender looking expression settling on his face, "the answer to that, is nothing. Absolutely nothing. I don't want the crown, I want you. The truth is, Tesoro, when you came here for good and there wasn't a half a world between us, I had every intention of asking you to be with me. I told you this already, days ago when this entire thing started, I like you. I didn't say that just for the sake of saying it, Izzy. I wouldn't do that. I said it because I meant it. I also meant what I said when I told you I accepted because I wanted to. There are no ulterior motives here. While the pace of things is a little faster than I had originally planned on, I did plan on spending a very long time with you if you would have had me."

Isabella looked in his dark blue eyes for a long moment, looking for anything that said otherwise, smiling slightly when she didn't find it. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, "really?"

Nodding once slowly, Demetri smiled at her, "really. You just happened to beat me to it, that's all. You chose me, I already wanted you. I would have wanted you even if you just a regular person and not My Princess. That's what makes this easy, nothing other than that. As long as you're not looking for a war on horizon, it won't be there. However, if you plan for one, if you expect one, you'll create one. Let things happen as they do, Tesoro, and it will work out exactly as it's meant to. For the sake of being the broken record here, everything will be fine, I promise. After the month you've had, I'm sure it doesn't seem like it, but it will. You just have to give it time."

*X*

The next morning when Demetri woke up, he rubbed his face a little before sneezing at the tickle on his nose. Cracking an eye open, he looked down at the top of the princess' head as she continued to sleep on his chest. Rubbing his eyes with one hand, he stretched out his back, grunting a little as it popped back into alignment. Settling back again, Demetri then pursed his lips as he tried to figure out how to get up without waking up the lady on his chest because there was no arguing the fact that the Lady Majesty was not, in anyway, a graceful riser and he had to pee.

Very slowly and very gently, he took the path of least resistance and lifted her up a little, sliding over a little at a time until he was freed and softly laid her on the pillows before getting up and covering her back up. Lacing his fingers together and raising his arms over his head, he finished the job of stretching out his back before twisting from side to side, slouching a little with a moan when he was no longer all knotted up from staying in the same position for however long they were sleeping.

Picking up his watch and checking the time, he grunted before turning to head to the bathroom. Damn his sleeping habits anyways. It didn't matter how late he was up the night before, he couldn't sleep past six thirty if his life was on the line. After taking care of business and splashing cold water on his face to finish the job of waking him up, he went back over to the bedside table, grabbed his cigarettes and went out to the balcony.

He was about halfway done, his hands resting on the railing, he cigarette between his lips when he felt a light caress across his shoulder blades. Taking his cigarette from his mouth, Demetri glanced over his shoulder and cocked a brow at Isabella as she ran her hand over his skin.

Biting her lip a little, Isabella cocked her head to the side and looked at the tribal design that went shoulder to shoulder, wrapping around them a little so there were points going down the back of his arms and over his collarbones, up his neck and down to the bottom of his shoulder blades, his last name standing proudly in the center. Lifting her eyes to his amused expression, "why haven't I noticed you had a tattoo before?"

Grinning a little, Demetri shrugged a shoulder, "I'm not normally only half dressed around you and, generally, you're next to me and not behind me so," pointing to the back of his neck, "you wouldn't have seen this part." Turning to face her, crossing his arms after stubbing out his cigarette, he smirked, "the few times you have been around me shirtless, you were distracted by other things at the time but I have had it the entire time I've known you. I got it a few months after I turned 18 when I finally got my head out of my ass after my parents died. I had spent so much time after that lost and not knowing who I was anymore without them there. When I finally figured it out, I got this so I would never forget again."

Sliding around him and leaning back on the railing and draping her arms over it, her hands dangling down by her ribs, she hummed as she thought about what he said before nodding to him, "I can understand that." Lifting the hem of her shirt, she pushed down the waist of her yoga pants a little and ran a finger over the Volturi Crest on her hip. Letting out a light, contemplative sigh, "I wasn't raised a Volturi, I was raised a Swan. When I was little, I knew what I was told about who I was but it wasn't until I was 16 and I came and stayed here for that summer vacation that I learned who I really was. Back home, well, back overseas, I kept my heritage a secret from everyone because I didn't want what is happening now going on back then. I wanted normal before my life was taken over and put under a microscope. Before I left at the end of the summer, Uncle Caius took me to get this so that it was always with me because I never wore my crest back home until very recently."

A fond smile overtook Isabella's features for a moment before she turned her head and looked up at Demetri, "You were right before. We are who we have always been, who we will always be. We can disacknowledge it, try and ignore it, pretend to be someone else. But, that doesn't change it. We will always be who we were born to be in the end, no matter the fight you put up against it because you can't be two people forever. Eventually, the two worlds will collide and you're left sorting out the pieces of who you really are."

Leaning on one forearm, Demetri pursed his lips a bit as he nodded his head to that, "very true." Giving her a smile, "so, now what?"

Dropping her head a little with a whimper, "the most hated of all things on the planet." Looking back up and curling a lip at Demetri's inquisitive look, she grunted, "wedding planning."

Demetri smirked a little, a chuckle shaking his frame, "aww, come on now. How bad could it possibly be?"


	8. Chapter 8

Sitting at one of the chairs in the dining room, Isabella was trying not to rip her hair out as the most annoying creature on the planet just wouldn't shut up. Leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms, she looked at Demetri as he sat next to her with his palm covering his face, and glared, "you just HAD to ask how bad it could be, didn't you?"

Demetri grunted a little and shook his head a bit, "she's like, the bastard child of the energizer bunny and a fucking umpa lumpa."

Not able to swallow it fast enough, Isabella snorted hard and accidentally drawing the attention of the creature that was supposed to be the best wedding planner in the country.

Alice's head popped up as a grin damn near split her face in half, "what was that, Your Highness? Something funny?"

Covering her mouth and clearing her throat, she tried to get the laughter out of her voice, and that was a story she would stick to if she was ever asked as she smiled back, "Yup. However, not your business. Go ahead."

With that, the princess went back to ignoring the pint sized irritation... that is until she heard the phrase 'pink frilly bows'.

Eyes going wide, Isabella's jaw dropped as she stared at the planner in horror for a moment before she shot out of her seat, "I beg your fucking pardon? Pink WHAT?"

Starting at the outburst, Alice blinked a little before tilting her head to the side, "it's for the aisle of the church to be hung off the pews. I followed your design."

Slowly shaking her head, Isabella's face started to darken, "no, you didn't. If you had, there would be NO mention of pink ANYTHING because I remember saying, perfectly clear, there was to be no pink. Our wedding colors are red and white."

At that, Alice giggled, "pink is a form of red, silly. When it came to the flowers and decorations, I took over the creative licence to make it more..."

Isabella cut her off and none too nicely, "fairy fucking princess. I noticed."

Confusion colored the planner's face, "but, you are a princess. I thought it fit better than what you chose."

Demetri choked on his tongue as Isabella growled, "do I look like a fucking fairy? Do I have wings sticking out of my back? Do I have sunny fucking disposition? No, no I don't. And do you know why? Because I'm not a fucking fairy. Nor, if you have taken the time to notice, am I six year old having a goddamn tea party. Change it to what was requested. I want RED, not pink and WHITE not cream. If you can't follow the very clear cut directions you were given, I will find someone that will."

Biting her lip a little in face of the pissed off royal, Alice whimpered a little. She was the highest recommended event planner in the country. Everyone loved her creativeness and had always loved the changes she made when the client got something wrong when filling out the documents about what they thought they wanted. If she couldn't keep this account, she would never get another booking from anyone. However, there was a problem with the demand to change what she had already done. Clearing her throat, "I can't. I already paid for the flowers and the order is already being filled. I didn't wait for approval on the order because it was so big and the wedding is so soon that if I had, they would never have enough time to finish it. Besides, pink and cream are so much better red and white anyways. Trust me, you're gonna love it when you see everything come together. Now, for your dress, I was thinking a cream long lace sleeved..."

Alice never got to finish that statement before Isabella was snatched up off her feet by Demetri when she snarled out, "I'm going to kill you."

Demetri chuckled a little as he held his bride to be over his shoulder, "well. I think someone needs a little break."

There was no argument on Isabella's part to that statement. "You're goddamn right. I'm thinking two knees and a wrist."

Setting her on her feet, and staying between Isabella and the very stunned planner, Demetri pointed to the doors, "take a breather, Tesoro."

Growling again, Isabella glared at the midget before snatching her phone off the table and storming out of the room. Opening her phone once she was out in the hall, she pounded the keys and hit send, tapping her foot until the other line picked up.

" _Hey Izzy. How's the planning going?_ "

Growling into the phone, Isabella exploded, yelling loud enough for her to be heard back in the dining room. "She's turning my wedding into a six year old's wet fucking dream. How the hell do you think it's going? How the fuck hard is it to follow simple fucking directions and color scheme? I asked for red and white and she turns around spends ten thousand dollars on pink and cream flowers. It's not even a GOOD pink. It's fucking ballerina bubblegum bullshit."

There was a chuckle in her ear, " _sounds like a great time. Are there going to be wing wedding favors with the happy couple's face on one and the information on the other?"_

Snorting a little, "we haven't gotten that far, but I wouldn't fucking doubt it." Scrubbing her face with one hand, "how the fuck soon can you get to the airport, Rose?" Raising her voice again, "I need someone to help me plan this shit that does not have the brain of perpetual preteen and actually gives a flying fuck about the fact that my family's colors are red and white and not this pink and cream crap." Turning back to the doors, she pulled her phone away from her mouth and shouted, "I earned my white dress damn it and by god I'm gonna fucking wear one!"

Turning back away, she saw her uncle Marcus standing at the end of the hall, staring at her like she had lost her mind, and she was really close to it. Glare still present, Isabella snapped, "what?"

Marcus simply raised his hands, palms facing her before turning and walking away shaking his head. Glancing back over his shoulder before rounding the corner, he snorted, "this is a fine time for her to pick to quit smoking." Grunting a little as he continued on his way, "I swear, I am going to buy her pack myself if she doesn't setting down."

Glaring at where her uncle vanished, Isabella put her phone back to her ear just as Rose's squeal subsided. " _Oh, my god, are you serious? I get to help plan the Royal Wedding? Holy shit. Um, I can probably be there in three hours._ "

Shaking her head a little, "make it two. I'll get a charter flight prepared for you so you get here sooner. Pack for an extended stay because you're gonna be here until after the wedding."

" _How long until then, again?_ "

"It's a month from tomorrow. So, that gives us about three weeks to finalize everything."

Rose was already running through her apartment to her room she could throw clothes in a bag and get ready to go to Italy. Good thing she had already gotten her passport updated or this would be a problem. " _Alright, I'll be there._ "

Finally smiling a non-evil smirk, Isabella sighed, "good. I'll be there to pick you up. See you tomorrow morning. Oh, and sleep on the plane because we're jumping right into the shit as soon as we get back."

" _Will do. See you tomorrow._ "

"Later." Closing her phone and taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Isabella rolled her head on her shoulders and headed back to the dining room to fire the pixy.

While the princess was out in the hall, Alice had tried everything she could think of to convince the groom to see reason and understand that red and white are too bold and not good for a wedding of this magnitude.

Demetri just looked at her like she was an idiot. Giving his head a little shake, he snorted, "this is not an everyday event, Miss. Brandon. Besides that, even if it was, you were paid to give the bride what SHE wanted not what you thought she might have liked. If Izzy wanted pink, she would have told you that she wanted it and not have vehemently banned the color from being anywhere near her. Even should we set aside her extreme hatred of the color, the ones chosen are the colors of the Volturi Family and have been for a very long time. I'm gonna have to side with her on this one. She told you exactly what she wanted and denied you any sort of creative licence and you took it anyways. You vastly overstepped your boundaries in disregarding the Lady Majesty's wishes the way you did."

Whining like little kid that was told no ice cream before dinner, "but I already paid for it. What am I supposed to do?"

That was when Isabella came back in, the calm that she had been able to summon gone with the question. "I don't rightly give a fuck if you shove that shit up your snatch in an attempt to give yourself an orgasm. It ain't coming anywhere near my wedding and neither the fuck are you. You're fucking fired and you can bet your tiny little fairy loving ass that I will make damn sure that the horrific service you provide is very widely known. I don't know how the fuck you came so highly recommended but by the time I'm done you'll be fucking lucky to get booked for a six year old's birthday party. Consider the ten grand worth of bullshit you bought so far as your severance package. Now, get the fuck out."

While Isabella was ranting to the wedding planner that was now in blubbering tears, Demetri turned his head to the still open doors when he heard a throat being cleared.

Aro stood in the doorway, rubbing his forehead a little as he listened to his niece just let her very sharp tongue fly. Sighing a little, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and showed them to Demetri before tossing them across the distance. Once they were caught, Aro pointed to Isabella then pointed to the doors across the room that led out to a small patio overlooking the gardens.

Standing from his seat again, Demetri once again hoisted his bride over his shoulder, much to her displeasure, and headed for the outside doors. Ignoring her protests, he just looked down at her, "you need a timeout to calm back down, Tesoro. You made the poor little imp cry."

Pushing herself up a little, she turned her head to glare up at him, "this isn't nothing. I'm about to make her bleed."

Nodding as he opened the doors, Demetri stepped outside and shut the door behind him before setting her on her feet, "and that is exactly why you need a timeout." Holding out the cigarettes that Aro had tossed him, he pulled his lighter and grabbed Isabella's wrist and put them in her hand, "have a cigarette and settle the hell down."

Looking at the one thing she wanted almost more than anything in the world, she huffed and shook her head, "I'm trying to quit."

Taking the pack and opening it up, Demetri pulled one out and held it up, "I know. However, I don't think this is really the best time to do that, not with everything that is currently going on. I mean, seriously, you just made a child cry. Smoke a cigarette, calm down and let's get through this and if after the worst is past you still want to quit, then by all means, do so. Right now however, no. You snapped at Marcus, Tesoro."

Looking at the cancer stick with longing in her eyes, Isabella huffed a little before reaching out and taking it. Glaring at the cigarette for a moment, she put it between her lips and lit it, taking a deep inhale and letting out slowly, once again glaring inside, "I blame the rugrat and her obsession with pink frilly shit for this."

Chuckling a little as he grabbed her by the hips and pulled her to him, Demetri smiled at her, "I don't rightly care who or what you place the blame on so long as you settle." Then he cocked his head a bit, "I cannot believe you told her to use the flowers like that."

Taking another long drag, Isabella snickered, "me either but was shit was good. I will totally have to remember that for later. Rose is going to shit bricks when I tell her about it."

Back inside, Aro was still standing in the doorway, watching as the young woman that was raved about tried to pull herself together. As he did so, he tried to summon up the will to feel some sort of sympathy for her but for whatever reason, it was nowhere to be found. Letting out a slightly hard sigh, he shook his head, "While Isabella should have handled her extreme displeasure in a different way, you should have never done what upset her in the first place. You came very highly recommended to me by someone that I actually take stalk in what they say."

Alice looked at the king of the region and licked her lips a little, "I stand by my decisions."

Nodding to her, Aro held a hand to the hall, "and that is why I stand by my niece's. Your services are no longer needed and, you will be very lucky if I can talk her out of doing exactly what she said she would because she always stands by hers."

Whimpering a little and gulping hard, Alice shook her head, "you have to."

Aro cocked a brow at her, "you presume to tell me what to do? Not a wise move on your part, Miss. Brandon."

"I'll be ruined if you let her."

At that, Aro chuckled a little, cocking a brow, "the simple fact that you think that I would want to stop her after the things I heard speaks volumes to the fact that I should do just that. You were given but three requests to adhere to and, in thinking you were better than the bride, couldn't be bothered. Well, neither can I. I am a very sick old man and things slip my mind these days. Have a safe journey home, Miss. Brandon."

Aro was turning to leave the room when here was an outcry of some form of honorific and the sounds of heels clacking against the stone floor. Sighing a little, Aro shook his head and spoke without raising his voice, "guards."

Out of nowhere appeared four men dressed in black. Two of them took up position between the king and the pixy while the other two each lightly grabbed an arm on the imp, her feet swinging up in front of her at the sudden stop.

Alice looked at her captives, a look of desperation on her face before looking back at the king, "please, don't let her do that."

"Well, if I wasn't before, I sure as fuck am now."

Everyone in the dining room turned their attention to the once again annoyed princess standing just inside the patio doors, however this time, there was no one to stop her from ripping the midget apart.

Isabella stood tall and proud, her head held high and arms crossed over her chest, a blank look on her face as she stared at the irritation that her uncle thought was a good idea. After a moment, she strolled over to the table and flipped through the papers there, taking what she needed before shoving the rest into the bag on the chair, making sure it was the biggest mess it could be, before then handing it over to one of the guards that held the runt, "I think it best you see her to the gates." Then looking at Alice, "otherwise she might not make it there alive." Leaning in nose to nose, she whispered so no one but Alice and the guards could hear her, "I am going to destroy you." Standing back up, "gentlemen."

Once the guards had left the room, the screaming abomination yelling her protests the whole way to the front doors, Aro looked at his niece with an impressed grin, "very diplomatic of you, Stella."

Isabella snorted as she went back to the table and picked up what she had taken from the planner, "don't get too proud of me just yet, Uncle Aro. I'm not done with her and there will be nothing diplomatic about it." Looking over at her bemused uncle, she smirked, "it's about to get teenaged drama all up in that little bitch's life. No one fucks my uncles and gets away with

it."

Aro sighed as he watched his niece walk out of the room. He turned his head to look at Demetri when he came to a stop next to him, his face flat. "She was so close."

Demetri smirked with a chuckle before he went to follow his bride. Turning to walk backwards with his hands clasped behind his back, he grinned. "Did you expect any different? Honestly, I would be disappointed if this were over."

Aro dropped his face into his palm as Demetri turned to face forward. After a moment, when he knew he was alone, he looked at the open doorway, crossed his arms and groaned. "No, but I had hope. And now, there are to be two. Fuck."

*X*

Early the next morning, Isabella was leaning on the trunk of the car with her arms and ankles crossed, a cup of piping hot coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the fingers of the other waiting for Rose to land. She was supposed to have landed nearly twenty minutes ago but due to a mayday call from another plane, her landing was delayed for the safety of the commercial flight passengers.

As she waited, she would nod or smile to those that acknowledged her, wave at others that called from passing cars or, if the person was feeling overly froggy, she would talk to those that actually came up to her. She didn't really want to, she was awake and it was before six am, but she did it and would be happy to report if asked that she didn't snap at anyone important.

Once she put her cigarette out, she tossed the butt into a trash can after making sure the cherry was out completely and headed back inside the airport, the two guards that came with her hot on her heels. They were both were well aware they weren't sent for the princess' safety, but to keep her from hurting anyone else, so when she squealed and took off running, they followed suit and kept the paparazzi from getting in her way, or to close, as she pounced on her friend that had finally arrived.

"Rosie!"

Grunting a little as she was plowed into, Rose giggled as she wrapped her arms around her best friend and squeezed, "hey, Izzy." Once they separated, Rose blinked as this super hot guy took her bag from her, but thanked him anyways as Isabella linked their arms and they started to the exit. Looking down at her, "so, when do I get to meet your Romeo?"

Smirking a little, Isabella giggled, "this afternoon. He has a few meetings this morning that he couldn't put off so he'll be busy till around lunch." The she looked up with a cocked brow, "so, where's Emmett?"

Rose shrugged a little as she thanked the guard the opened the back door to the car and slid in, "he'll be here for the wedding but said he wanted nothing to do with being present for the planning process." Looking over at Isabella when she sat down in the car, she giggled, "he also wanted me to pass the message on to Demetri about him being a brave soul for not hiding under a rock until it was time to walk down the aisle."

Giving her friend a coy little smile, "I'll let him be as involved as he wants until he fucks something up. Then he won't be hiding under a rock so much as he will be crushed by it."

Throwing her head back and barking out a laugh, Rose covered her mouth as she stared at Isabella, "well look at you, Bridezilla. I not only thought I was going to be getting married first, but I also figured that it would be me threatening to kill Emmett for fucking shit up, not you."

Isabella shrugged as she picked up a magazine, "I only get to do this once so it will be as absolutely fucking perfect as it is feasibly possible to make it in three weeks and I will murder anyone that makes it less than that." Pointing a finger at Rose, "keep that shit in mind because we got a lot to do and no time to do it. And, let us not forget we have to undo everything the stupid little twat fucked up before we can even start so I hope you listened and got some sleep, cause you ain't going down till the fucking sun comes up."


	9. Chapter 9

Standing in front of a full length mirror, Isabella was settling her tiara in place when there was a knock, drawing her attention from her task to her Uncle Aro when Rose opened the door. Smiling at him in the mirror, she finished putting on her crown before turning around, taking in the picture he made in the extremely formal attire he was wearing as the King of Volterra. Fixing her gloves, she tilted her head a little, "are you sure you feel up for this, Uncle Aro?"

A soft smile lifted his lips as he took in the vision in red and white his niece made in her dress, years of memories flashing before his eyes of her as a child as she smiled that same one she bestowed on him now as she was wrapped around his legs, her bright green eyes lighting up as she talked nonstop about nothing. Clearing the lump from his throat and swallowing it down, he nodded a little, "I'm perfectly alright, My Little Stella. There is not a force in this world that would keep me from it. You look beautiful. So much like your mother."

Looking down and swallowing hard herself, she looked up at him through her lashed, "really?" When she saw her uncle nod again, a small, sad smile pulled at her lips, "thank you." Shaking her head a little as she turned back to the mirror, smoothing out the skirt of her dress, she looked at him in the glass, "what do you think she would say about today?"

Humming a little as he crossed his arms, "I would imagine some words of wisdom for a long and happy marriage."

Grinning a little, "are you going to give me any of those?"

Chuckling slightly, Aro shook his head a little before he grinned at her, "don't cheat." Sighing a little when Isabella giggled, he tisked, "I know that this all happened very quickly and, for you, very unexpectedly. I also know that you and Demetri are still getting to know each other and there is a very long uphill battle ahead of you both in the time to come. However, so long as you keep in mind that you are friends before anything else, you'll be just fine."

Blinking a little, Isabella glanced over her shoulder, "what does that mean?"

At that, Aro smirked, "if he pisses you off as your husband, talk to him like he is your friend. You will always find it easier to bitch to a friend about a spouse then to said spouse about said spouse. It was what your mother did with your father when he got on her last nerve. You want my words of advice for your long and happy marriage?" When Isabella nodded, he locked his eyes on hers, "finish building your friendship before you begin to build your marriage. You two met and bonded over tragedy. Find a common, happy ground you share and build on that platform. It is a much stabler foundation."

At that point, Rose chimed in, "and if that doesn't work, knee him in the nuts. That will always tell a guy he crossed the line."

Chuckling a little before clearing his throat, Aro nodded, "there is always that option as well, I suppose." Glancing at his watch at seeing that it was time, he looked at his niece, "are you ready, Stella? It's time."

Giving herself one last look in the mirror and taking a deep breath, Isabella nodded one, "yup."

Taking her bouquet from Rose and linking her arm through her uncle's, the princess of Volterra and her small group of bridesmaids left the dressing room of the church and headed for the area of worship. Once the bridesmaids took their positions next to their appointed groom's man and the princess stood with the king off to the side so as not to be seen, the music started and the doors opened.

Standing at the end of the aisle, at the top of the altar, Demetri stood with the priest, his hands clasped behind his back, looking to the doors when the music started. He was dressed slightly differently than his groomsmen, his jacket a stark contrast to the the black of his friends in a pure white. His boutonniere was also different. His was a barely opened white rose encased in red rose petals with a few buds of baby's breath whereas the others were a bloomed white rose with small little red rose buds behind it. Other than that, they all wore white shirts, red vest and had red ties around their necks.

The first to come down the long red runner was his best man Felix escorting his bride's Maid of Honor Rosalie. She was dressed differently than the other bridesmaids in a dress that was strapless and fitted to the middle of her thighs of mostly red. It had an exposed underlayer of white lace and a rhinestone encrusted design under the bust and around the flare out, going up her hip and ending at the bottom of her ribs.

The next two that were escorted down by Afton and Alec, were Jane and a friend of Isabella's from America that, for whatever reason, went by Gazelle. Their dresses were also mostly red only theirs were more of a ballgown. They also had rhinestone designs on the bodice and instead of being completely strapless, they had off the shoulder sleeves. The skirts of the dresses had a slit in the red that showed off the white thole underneath and at the top of the slit there was a white rose and two thin red ribbons that hung back down.

The bouquets of all three though were the same. Red roses and white, circular flowers.

Once Jane and Alec were through the doors, they were shut again in preparation for the bride's arrival. That was also the point that Felix took his place next to Demetri on the alter.

Once he was set in his place, Felix leaned over and lowered his voice a little, "how ya feeling there, Dem?"

Giving him a look that was a cross between annoyance and incredibility, Demetri snorted a little, "I'm fine. How are you?"

Creasing his brows a little, Felix shrugged, "hungry. This isn't gonna take long, is it?"

Chuckling a little, Demetri shook his head as he looked back at the doors, "shut up, asshole."

Scoffing a little, "we're in a church, man. Let's watch that mouth of yours."

Rolling his eyes and heaving a sigh, Demetri shook his head a little, "I swear on everything you hold dear, Felix, you do anything to screw this day up and I will murder you with a spoon."

"Thanks for the show of confidence there, Dem, really."

Smirking over at him, Demetri shrugged, "what can I say, I know you too well."

Opening his mouth to say something back, he paused for a moment before nodding, "true. I promise to be on my best behavior today." After a second more pause, he lowered his voice a little more, "seriously though. How are you right this second?"

Shrugging slightly again, Demetri glance at him quickly before looking back at the doors when the opening bars of 'Pachelbel's canon in D' started up signaling the coming of his bride. Smiling slightly as they doors started to open, "ask me that again in an hour."

Demetri watched the doors at the end of the aisle open with a mocking, exaggerated slowness, the build up to the reveal as the other attendance stood to greet the bride twisting a knot of excitement in his stomach and heart kicking up in its pace. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowed through puckered lips, he nodded once to Felix when he was, once again, if he was alright.

He was perfect.

Rose smiled slightly as she watched Demetri fidget a little out of the corner of her eye as she too waited the arrival of the bride. She thought it was cuter than hell. Over the last couple of weeks, she had gotten a chance to get to know him rather well and she would be lying if she said she didn't like the guy. He was the definition of a proper gentleman, the kind of guy that every father wants their daughter to end up at this place with. Other than her, Rose had never seen anyone be able to talk Isabella out of a temper induced hissy fit and he did it flawlessly. She had also seen the way Demetri looked at her best friend when he thought no one was looking. If he wasn't in love, he was falling into that perfect euphoric combination of care, affection and devotion and if he said otherwise, he was fucking liar.

Demetri glanced over at Rose and cocked a brow at her when he noticed she was looking at him, grinning a little when she gave him that little attitudinal look that he had seen quite a few times since she arrived. Chucking a little and shaking his head slightly, he turned his attention back to the doors and his heart, that was pounding against ribs, stopped short mid-beat at the sight his eyes beheld.

Once the two royal guards stepped to the side, there she was, on the arm of Aro, an angel in white and red. Her dress was white and perfectly tailored to her frame, the pristine color marred around the top of the bust and down her back and flooding the train with red. Her veil was short, the bottom trimmed in red satin, her normally only diamond studded tiara was spotted with rubies. But all this was dulled by the magnificence of her radiant smile and shining emerald colored eyes.

Demetri was pretty sure he was having a heart attack.

Swallowing hard and clearing his throat, Demetri smiled as he went down the four steps to the church floor to greet Isabella as she reached the end of the aisle. Bowing to Aro, he then turned to his bride as the priest cleared his throat.

"Who gives this lady to this man?"

Aro smiled down at his niece, setting his hand over hers as it rested on his forearm for a moment before looking back to the priest, "I do."

Isabella smiled up at him, standing up on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "I love you, Uncle Aro."

Smiling at her, Aro winked before taking her arm from his and set her hand in Demetri's. After nodding to them, he took a step back and went over to his seat next to his brothers as Demetri wrapped his bride's arm around his, waiting for her to pick up the front of her skirt and escorting her the rest of the way to the alter.

Smiling softly down at her as the went up the steps, Demetri whispered, "you look stunning, Tesoro."

Beaming up at him, Isabella giggled a little, "you don't look too bad yourself there, Demi. I knew the white was a good choice for you."

Grinning a little as they came to a stop before the priest, Demetri winked at her before they both turned their attention over to the officiant once Isabella handed her bouquet over to Rose.

While they appeared to be paying attention to the priest, neither Isabella or Demetri heard a word he said for most of the time he spoke, each stealing glances at the other, Isabella looking down a little when she was caught and Demetri smirking a little when he was.

It wasn't until they heard him ask Felix for the rings that they seemed to snap back to the church they were in.

After he took the rings from the best man, the priest looked at the princess, "Do you, Isabella, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Smiling wide, she nodded as she looked up at Demetri, "I do."

Holding out his hand and presenting Demetri's band, "then take this ring and repeat after me."

Picking up the white gold band from the priest's palm, Isabella held Demetri's hand in hers, the ring positioned in front of his finger, and repeated the words she was told to.

"I, Isabella, take thee, Demetri, as my husband. To stand by you in sickness and in health, through the good and bad, through richer or poorer. To have and to hold, from this day forward and for as long as we both shall live."

After she slid the ring in place on Demetri's hand, the priest then turned to the groom, "Do you, Demetri, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Looking down at his bride with a tender face and soft smile, Demetri nodded, "I do."

"Then take this ring and repeat after me."

Taking the band from the priest, Demetri repeated their vows, "I, Demetri, take thee, Isabella, as my wife. To stand by you in sickness and in health, through the good and bad, through richer or poorer. To have and to hold, from this day forward and for as long as we both shall live."

Once he slipped her band in place, The priest smiled wide and looked at first the princess, "then by the power invested in me by the Lord and the King, I now pronounce you, husband and wife." Looking then to the new prince, he smiled, "you may kiss your bride."

Turning to his new wife, Demetri smiled at her, setting a hand against her neck and dipping his head, Isabella meeting him halfway, and pressed his lips to hers. As the assembled crowd cheered, whistled and clapped, he slipped his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer to him and nipped at her lip a little, smiling against her lips when he heard a little moan from her throat when their tongues slid across each others once before he pulled back.

As they stared at each other, the priest held his hands out to the side, "it is my honor to present to you, Master and Mrs. Demetri Angelo De Luca."

Cocking a brow at hearing his last name in the announcement, he filed that one away for the moment as the two of them turned to the audience once Isabella took her bouquet back.

The photographer from the club never missed a beat snapping pictures of the bridal party on the dais, walking backwards in a crouch as they started back down the aisle, slipping out of the way at the doors so he could get the pictures of the groomsmen and bridesmaids as they exited. Even as his finger continued to press the shutter, even as he witnessed parts of the wedding that no one outside those involved did, he still could not believe that he actually got the phone call from the king himself asking him if he would be interested in being the official photographer for the princess' wedding. When she had said she wanted to use his services, this was the absolute last thing he thought she had meant.

Once out of the gathering room, Demetri and Isabella went to the dressing room Isabella used to wait for the church to empty out before they exited as well. Once they were inside and the door was closed, Demetri cocked his head, "De Luca? I thought my name was changing."

Isabella giggled a little as she fixed her hair a little in the mirror and looked at him through the glass, "did you even bother to actually read the papers I gave you to sign?" When she saw him shrug a little, she grinned and turned to face him, "The family's name only needs to be used by the current ruler. Until I take over, I don't have to use it. Hence the reason I used my father's all my life. Had you read what you sighed, you would know that. What they said was, in a nutshell, you consent to the name change upon my coronation to the throne. That's also why you were still called by your title of Master and not Prince." Shaking her head a little with another giggle, "god, how long have you been a businessman? By now, you should know to always read through contracts before signing them."

Humming a little in his throat, Demetri tisked, "so, as long as you're still only the princess..."

Nodding a cutting him off, Isabella grinned, "I am Mrs. De Luca."

*X*

It took about fifteen minutes before one of the guards came and knocked on the dressing room door to inform the newlyweds that it was time to head to the palace.

Looking at each other, Isabella picked up her bouquet and took Demetri's arm as they left the room and went to the front doors of the church. Looking up at her new husband, Isabella cocked a brow at him, "are you ready for this?"

Smirking a little, Demetri winked at her as the doors were opened and they stepped outside. Pausing at the top of the steps for pictures and such, they both raised a hand in a wave before they started down the steps into a shower of red and white rose petals.

At the end of the red runner, Aro, Marcus and Caius waited to greet them before they left the grounds. Isabella paused and gave each one a hug and Demetri shook their hands, grinning a little at the death threat from Caius, before holding his hand out to aid Isabella into the white horse drawn carriage that waited to take them through the streets of Volterra.

Once they were both seated, two guards climbed onto the back, nodding to the driver they were ready. With a little lurch, the carriage rolled forward, out of the church grounds and out into the streets that were lined on both sides with the citizens waiting to see them. Isabella sat with one arm linked through Demetri's, using the other to wave at the people that were going absolutely nuts.

They were about halfway to the palace when Demetri turned his attention to Isabella, who was all smiles as she waved. Nudging her a little in the ribs with the arm she was holding, he waited until she was looking his way before taking his her chin between his fingers, leaning over and once again taking her lips with his.

Eyes slipping closed, Isabella set her hand on his forearm. Things over the last month had progressed between them and she was a lot more comfortable with this now then she was when the road was first started. They have never done anything but kiss over the last few weeks and normally only when he was coming or going, not really just because they could, so when it came to pretty much anything but this, she felt nervous and awkward. It wasn't him or the situation either. She had just never done anything but kiss a guy before so she was pretty sure no matter who she married or how old she was, she would feel the same way.

When they parted, the cheers from the crowd went unnoticed by the couple as they stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Smiling a little, Isabella looked down before looking up at Demetri through her lashes, "hey."

Grinning, Demetri chuckled a little, "hi."

Making a little noise in her throat as the silence stretched and a slight air of awkwardness settling in her gut, Isabella chuckled a little, "so, that was nice."

Snorting and shaking his head a little, Demetri smirked, "good." Then he winked at her, "glad you enjoyed it." When she began to blush, even through her makeup, he smiled at her, "you need to relax, Tesoro. There is no need for you to get shy on me now, is there?"

Shrugging and biting her lip, Isabella sighed a little, "no, I guess there isn't." Then she smirked a little, "and I was talking about the ceremony anyways, so..."

Rolling his eyes a little, Demetri leaned back into her, "ha ha, My Lady." He cut her giggles off with a peck to the lips before they separated, giving a final wave to the crowd as they reached the gates to the palace.


	10. Chapter 10

After the pictures were taken out in the gardens, the bridal party were getting lined up to enter the reception. Since the last to go in before the bride and groom were the best man and the maid of honor, Rose was turned around fussing over Isabella's veil and train, pulling flower petals out of her hair from the church. Giving her head a little shake with a wide smile on her face, Rose giggled, "dude, I cannot believe you're fucking married."

Isabella snorted as she glanced over her shoulder at her best friend, "the only thing I can't believe about it is that I beat your ass to the alter. When the hell is Emmett gonna get his head out of his ass and pop the question already? You two have been together how fucking long now?"

Glaring a little at the stubborn petal that refused to vacate its home in the beading on the back of Isabella's dress, "seven years. Since I was twelve." Growling a little when it still wouldn't come out and just kept tearing, "come on you bastard, get off already."

Felix snorted a little before talking without thinking, "hope that is said more than once in the coming future."

Every single set of eyes in the hall moved to look at him with exaggerated slowness, a wide range of emotions within the different colors.

Once what he said reran through his head, Felix snapped his eyes to Demetri, who was looking at him with a face that told him he wasn't kidding about the spoon. However, instead of apologizing for it, he owned, "what, no one wants a minute man."

Isabella's hand came up to her lips as her eyes went slightly wide as she stare, "oh, my, god."

Demetri just shook his head a little before glaring at Felix, "seriously? Shut the fuck up."

Sulking a little as he turned around and presented his arm to Rose when they were told the entrance was about to start, "well, it's true."

Demetri kicked him in the back of the knee leaving Rosalie barely enough time to let go of him before he dropped to the ground. Isabella cupped her hands over her mouth as a bark of laughter broke out of her throat and Demetri smirked wide and crossed his arms when Felix glared at him from over his shoulder, "look at that, you didn't even last a minute and I'm completely satisfied."

Picking himself up off the ground, Felix dusted off his pants and glared, "you're an asshole."

Demetri just shrugged, "I know. I also meant what I said about the spoon."

Glaring for a second more, Felix turned back around and once again held his elbow out to Rose, who couldn't seem to stop laughing long enough to even stand up straight for another few moments before she took a deep breath and cleared her throat, taking his arm and rolling her shoulders a little as the doors were opened and the introductions started.

Inside the ballroom, the DJ cued up the chosen song for the first dance since it would take place right after the announcement of the newlyweds. Once it was in cue, he picked up his mic and flipped it back on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's get on those feet and welcome, for the first time together, The Master and His Mrs. Demetri Angelo De Luca."

As Demetri and Isabella walked through the doors and down the steps into the room, there was the same reaction as their first kiss, people whistled, clapped and cheered only this time as they passed the attendance, they bowed their heads in reverence to the royalty they were.

When they reached the dance floor, the DJ flipped the track and started the music to their dance, Rose moving from her place at the maid's table to catch Isabella's bouquet so she could dance to the slightly fast song.

It took Demetri four bars of the song to get the beat before he spun his wife in a circle as the words to Lonestar's 'Come Cryin' to me' started.

 _I can see it in your eyes_

 _You're livin' a troubled life_

 _And you've been hurtin' more and more these days_

 _You don't have to hide it_

 _Don't even have to fight it_

 _Baby all you have to do is just turn and walk away_

After a spin out, Demetri pulled Isabella to his chest and cocked a brow, "interesting choice."

 _When you're tired of it all_

 _And tears need to fall_

 _Your back's to the wall_

Giggling as they used the whole floor for their dance, she smiled, "listen to the words. It's perfect."

 _Come cryin' to me_

 _You don't have to be strong_

 _You don't have to hold on_

 _You've been there too long_

 _Come cryin' to me_

 _I'll leave the living room light_

 _Burning all night_

 _No don't even pack_

 _Don't even look back_

 _Baby come cryin' to me_

 _You can get beyond this_

 _All those empty promises_

 _They don't have to hold you down no more_

 _Nothin' to explain to me_

 _You don't even need a key_

 _All you gotta do is knock and I'll unlock the door_

Chuckling a little as he did as he was told and continued to spin Isabella around the floor, he nodded, "can't argue that."

 _When you're tired of it all_

 _And tears need to fall_

 _Your back's to the wall_

 _Come cryin' to me_

 _You don't have to be strong_

 _You don't have to hold on_

 _We've been there too long_

 _Come cryin' to me_

 _I'll leave the living room light_

 _Burning all night_

 _No don't even pack_

 _Don't even look back_

 _Baby come cryin' to me_

Looking up at him during the musical brake, Isabella smiled softly, "since the day we met, you've always been there for me when I needed someone. You've always let me cry on you. The first dance should summarize the relationship and this does. So, ya know, thanks for being there."

 _I'll leave the living room light_

 _Burning all night_

 _No don't even pack_

 _Don't even look back_

 _Baby come cryin' to me_

The same tenderness from the church settled on Demetri's face as he looked down at her, "I always will be, Tesoro."

 _Baby come cryin' to me_

 _Baby come cryin' to me_

With a final twirl of his bride, Demetri led her off the dance floor and over to the sweetheart table positioned between the one for the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Pulling out her seat, he handled her into it before taking his own seat. Since Isabella was the one that set up the order of things for the reception, she took into account that since the wedding itself was so early, it was pointless to have the dinner at three in the afternoon so she had the speeches right after the first dance followed by the all the other dances figuring by the time all those were done, it would be a more acceptable time to have dinner.

Isabella sighed a little as Rose stood from her seat and took the offered mic from the DJ. This was the part of the Maid of Honor's job that had the princess questioning just how good of an idea it was to have Rose play the part. It wasn't like there was anyone else that she would have wanted to stand beside her on the day she got married, but at the same time... a shudder worked its way down her spine as Rosalie cleared her throat.

Licking her lips a little, Rose looked over at the bride as Isabella looked back at her, a slight fear in her eyes, and for good reason. Looking back at Demetri, she smiled a little, "I have known the princess here for over ten years, and let me tell ya, the bitch is crazy. Like, really, you're gonna have your hands full with this one." Giggling a little when he snorted, Rose then looked at her best friend, that was glaring at her before looked back at the groom, "but, in all seriousness, for as nuts as she can be, she is also one the purest and most kind hearted people you'll ever have the pleasure of knowing."

Looking down a little, "when we were kids, I was the new girl in school and didn't have the greatest reputation follow me there. Izzy was the first person to talk to me, the first to see past that and give me a chance to prove that I wasn't quite as bad as the rumors said I was. She ultimately found out I was close, but not quite there.

"As the years passed, we grew closer and participated in some really fucked up shenanigans, weathering the storm of anger and irritation that we caused others for our own entertainment. There were times that we did stuff purely for the amusement of seeing someone lose their temper." Looking over at the now smirking royal, "like the time we snuck into the carnival that was in town when we were thirteen after it was closed for the night and everyone went home and turned the power back on. Or the time at the petting zoo when we were fifteen and 'accidently' left the pigpen open. Or, when we were sixteen and snuck out after curfew and went to the movies with fake IDs to see the new horror movie that was out. God, were our parents pissed."

Isabella dropped her face into her hand, more to hide the smile on her face than anything else as Demetri leaned over and whispered in her ear, "awe, is my little felon embarrassed?"

Snorting a little, she glanced over and grinned, "fuck no. That shit was funnier than hell. These are the tame stories of our friendship, too." Then she smirked a little, "can't wait to hear what Felix says about you."

Demetri grunted a little before looking over at his vastly amused best friend, "is it too late to change my mind on this?"

Giggling a little and giving him a nod, "uh huh."

Their little side conversation ended just in time to catch the end of Rose's speech, "but, for all her weird and crazy tendencies, from what I have seen over the last couple of weeks, Demetri has found a way to, somehow, level her out and keep her in line, something that she needs more than she will ever admit." Lifting her glass, "I wish you both a long and truly happy life together as you begin your journey into the unknown. However, Demetri, just remember one thing. You ever hurt my girl, I'll cut you." Winking at him when he smirked, "to the Bride and Groom."

As the guests lifted their glasses, Rose handed the mic over to Felix so he could make his speech. The look on Felix's face as he took it already had Demetri ready to make good on the spoon threat.

Setting his glass down, Felix looked at his best friend and gave him a wicked smirk. There were so many things he could say right now that would torture Demetri for the next decade if he knew Izzy as well as he thought he did.

Clearing his throat a little and licking his lips, he clicked his tongue, holding a hand to Demetri and looking out into the audience, "I met the Master here on a warm, sunny day in April at a park that my nanny took me to. Back then, he was too short for his age and wore glasses. He was the perfect little target for the bigger kids to pick on and push around. They did too, mercilessly. Now, as boys will do, things escalated and this little shrimp of a rugrat had apparently reached his limit and, as the bully of the playground went in for his turn, Demetri grabbed a handful of sand, threw it in the kid's eyes before he proceeded to beat the shit out of the boy that was at least seven inches bigger and around twenty pounds heavier. That was the moment I knew we would be friends forever."

Isabella looked at Demetri with wide eyes for a moment before she blinked at him, "You beat up another kid at the playground?"

Demetri snorted a little before leaning over and whispering in her ear, "The kid I beat up, was Felix."

Starting a little, Isabella grinned, "Well, good for you."

Demetri just winked at her before returning his attention to Felix, draping his arm over the back of Isabella's chair.

Looking at the only person to ever actually win a fight against him, Felix grinned, "When Demetri was six, he came to spend a weekend at my house because his parents were going out of town for a few days."

Knowing where this was going, Demetri groaned a little as he dropped his face into his palm, "Oh, no."

Chuckling a little, Felix shook his head, "after far more sugar than was normally allowed in our diets, I was somehow able to talk him into putting on a dress." Looking over at the laughing princess, Felix smirked, "I got pictures to prove it too."

Demetri glared at him, "You wore one too, Dick."

Felix just held up a finger, that same smirk still in place. "Ah, but we aren't talking about me right now, are we?" Ignoring the darkening glare on Demetri's face, he continued as he looked right at Isabella. "By the way, that was where the nickname 'Demi' came from if you were wondering."

Choking on the drink she just took, Isabella set her hand over Demetri's as he went to grab his spoon. Felix, oblivious to his coming death, continued with his speech as she leaned over and whispered in Demetri's ear. "Hey, this is all in good fun, Dem. Relax. You didn't see me getting all pissed off about the shit Rose talked about. Besides, I think it's cute."

The look Demetri gave Isabella told her he didn't believe her for a second. So, she took a different route. "Has Felix ever kicked your ass?" When Demetri smirked at her, she cocked a brow. "Then let him feel better about himself for the time being and later, once he is riding high on his horse, let everyone else in on the secret that it was HIM you beat up as a kid."

That was apparently the right thing to say. Demetri perked right on up, his smirk growing wider as his eyes lit up. "Or, I can just do it again."

Isabella giggled and pecked Demetri's cheek. "That's the spirit, Demetri." Then she snorted, "Welcome to the family. We don't get mad; we get even."

*X*

Hours passed and everyone was having a fantastic time. Dinner was wonderful, the speeches that followed the Best Man and Maid of Honor's not nearly as horrible, if you ignored the death threats to Demetri made by all three of her uncles anyway, and the mandatory dances with the Bridal Party were done leaving it time for the bar to open and the DJ to take requests by the guests.

Demetri and Isabella were on the dance floor, Demetri twirling his wife perfectly to beat of the pounding base of the music. Isabella had a smile on her face, her laughter ringing out over the crowd as she tried to keep up. She was a superb dancer, but when paired with the amount of alcohol she had ingested at that point, it was a little harder than normal.

Taking pity on his girl, Demetri pulled her to his chest, lacing his fingers together behind the small of her back and smiled at her. "Are you alright, Tesoro? I remember you being a better dancer than this."

Isabella scoffed at him, wrinkling her nose as she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him. "Fuck you, Dude."

Smile turning into a smirk, Demetri dipped his head and whispered in his blushing bride's ear. "Was that an offer?" Then, because he was right there and wanted to see what would happen, he bit at Isabella's ear, immediately tightening his hold around her waist when her knees buckled slightly as the action. A deep chuckle rumbled his chest that vibrated into hers, "I'll have to remember that reaction, Amore."

Held tight to Demetri's chest, Isabella pulled her head back and looked up him, face redder than a tomato and eyes wide in disbelief to the very blatant sounding promise. She knew that THAT was part of the whole marriage package, but for the love of fuck, could he be more crass about it? Blinking at that, she already knew that answer. Yes, yes he could.

Seeing his wife's flaming face, Demetri just smiled at her, a tender expression on his face. "Calm down, Tesoro. We are not going to do anything along those lines until you're ready to, no matter how painful that might be to adhere to." It would be too. He hadn't had sex in months, something that he was not used to. However, keeping in mind that he and his new bride had only met just over eight weeks ago, he was in no way holding out any sort of hope of getting laid anytime soon.

Isabella smiled at Demetri slightly, her face still on fire as she scratched the back of her head. "Good to know." Then she cocked a brow, "Out of curiosity, how many lucky little ladies have you been with?"

Demetri cocked a brow back. "Do you really want to know the answer to that question, Izzy?"

She pursed her lips a little before shaking her head. "Probably not if you're asking me that. How about this one, when was the last time you had sex?"

Looking up at the ceiling for a moment to think about that, Demetri clicked his tongue. "Two weeks before I met you, I believe, give or take." When he saw the look she was giving him, Demetri snorted. "I don't mark the dates I get laid on a calendar, Tesoro. However, I suppose, if you really want me too, I can attempt to give you a rundown of my past partners. That could take a while, though."

Isabella was quick to shake her head. "No, that's alright." Then her nose wrinkled. "You kinda just made yourself sound like a whore."

Demetri just shrugged slightly. "Well, unlike you, My Princess, I certainly did nothing to earn wearing white today."

Isabella snorted and covered her mouth to try and smother the noise. "Jesus, Demetri. I get it, you're a little man whore. There are worse things to discover about someone."

He cocked a brow at her. "Is that so? Like what, out of curiosity."

Isabella giggled a little. "That you're gay and using me as a cover to hide that from your friends."

Demetri's face flattened. "Oh, very funny, Izzy."

"Well, you asked."

Before Demetri could say anything to that, Caius tapped him on the shoulder, a smirk on his face. "She has a very good point, Young Master." Winking at his niece, he turned back to Demetri, "may I cut in?"

Dipping his head, Demetri nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty." Turning with a smile to his wife, Demetri brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "I'll see you soon, Tesoro."

Isabella smiled at him, wiggling her fingers at him in a wave after he turned to go talk to his friends.

Caius looked down at his niece when she crossed her arms, taking in the serene look on her face. "No second thoughts this time, Stella?"

Isabella grinned up at him, lifting a shoulder. "I think this just might be the one decision that I never question."


	11. Chapter 11

Isabella was having the time of her life. After she danced with her uncles for a few songs she had every intention of once again dancing with Demetri, but Alec, that sneaky little bastard, grabbed her wrist and forced her into a spin before taking up a dancing position when she was facing him again.

She blinked at him a few times before she giggled. "Dude, what the hell?"

Alec smirked at her a little, his eyes showing that he had also been enjoying the open bar. "What? The moment you go back to Dem, the rest of us lowly little people will not have the pleasure of dancing with our future queen again. Demetri doesn't share well."

Isabella giggled but allowed Alec to lead her around the dance floor. After a moment of silence, she cocked her head to the side, curiosity on her face. "Why didn't you bring a date?"

He shrugged. "I thought about it, but decided that bringing a chick to a wedding that I am not even dating would not only look weird, but then I would have to listen to Jane and that is just no bueno."

Isabella snorted hard, showing just how much she herself had to drink. "Don't. Do you have any idea how funny you sound talking in Spanish with that thick of an Italian accent?"

Before Alec could say anything back to that, there was a bang on the other side of the room drawing everyone's attention to the only person on the planet that would be stupid enough to crash this particular wedding.

Edward's eyes scanned the room, not really giving a shit about the fact he was on the receiving end of various different looks, ranging from shock to rage, for his abrupt entrance. He also dismissed the dark glare the Ice Queen Rosalie was giving him while being held back by her all brawn and no brain boyfriend. No, he was looking for his Isabella and he would find her.

When his eyes landed on her, he was struck for a second by the vision she made only to see red when he saw she was in the arms of some piece of shit guy. After taking in the suit the guy was wearing, Edward assumed that that must have been her new husband. A smirk pulled at his lips as he made his way across the room completely unhindered by anyone because only a handful of people there knew who he was.

Isabella groaned when her foggy mind connected what she thought she was seeing to the reality it was. Looking up at Alec when he asked what was up, she shook her head as her face went flat. "Do you remember that ex-boyfriend I told you and the others about the night we met on the way to the bar?"

It took a moment for that memory to surface in Alec's mind, but when it did his eyes widened. "That's HIM?" When Isabella nodded once, Alec could not hold back the bark of a snort that came out. "Seriously? Is he fucking retarded?"

Isabella was a little more successful at smothering her laughter, though not by much. Pressing her lips together and nodding once again, "Yup."

Rose, who had managed to free herself from Emmett's hold after she drove her heel into the top of his foot, skirted the outside of the dance floor and made her way over to Demetri, who looked at the new arrival with a mix of annoyance and confusion on his face. When she got to him, she glanced back and saw that Edward had made it to his destination of Izzy and Alec. Glaring again, she turned back to Demetri when he asked her if she knew who that was. Her glare morphed into a dark smirk, "Did Iz ever tell you about Edward Cullen?" When she saw his eyes darken slightly and one of his brows slide up his forehead, she nodded. "That's him."

The confusion and annoyance melted away and a dark amusement took its place. A smirk split Demetri's face as he chuckled, "Is it, now? How nice of him to come."

Turning his attention away from Rose and back across the room where his wife and Alec were having a standoff with this Edward, Demetri decided to go introduce himself.

Edward, completely clueless of the approaching storm, sized Alec up, contempt on his face. In comparison to Edward, Alec was both a few inches shorter and smaller in overall muscle size. Rolling his eyes, he turned to Isabella, "Why am I not surprised to see you downgraded so much? Then again, not like there was any option for you after me."

Lip curling at the corner, Alec glanced down at the princess, who looked just as flabbergasted as he did. Dipping his head and lowering his voice, Alec whispered in her ear. "What the fuck is he talking about?"

Isabella blinked a few times in shock before amusement overtook her features. Whispering back through her giggles, she enlightened him as to what she thought was going on. "I think he thinks you're Demetri."

Alec choked on a snort that got stuck in his throat. "You're kidding, right?" When she pressed her lips together and shook her head, Alec glanced over to where his friend was and saw that he was no longer there; he was on his way over. Standing back up to his full height, Alec smirked at the moron. "While I wouldn't be opposed to it, I'm not the new Prince." Seeing the shock at his mistake flash through Edward's eyes, Alec's smirk grew as he pointed over Edward's shoulder. "He is."

Edward looked at Isabella for a second and saw her shake her head before she too looked behind him. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced over his shoulder, his jaw going lax at the size of first guy he saw. His head whipped back around when he heard Isabella snort.

Isabella had a gloved hand over her mouth at Edward's reaction to Felix, though she could understand it. Felix was fucking huge. She shook her head and chuckled, "Fottuto idiota." Her amusement grew even more when she realized that Edward didn't know Italian. The first thing that popped in her head at that the realization was that he should consider getting his money back for those classes he took on foreign language. Giggling again, she grinned at him, "Wrong again. Third time's a charm though."

Edward's lip curled slightly in the corner as he, once again, looked behind him. Before he was able to react to much, he felt a hand slam down and clap the top of his shoulder. With a wince, Edward grunted before looking to see who was touching him. The guy next to him wasn't AS big as the one behind him, but he was still bigger than he was.

Demetri squeezed the shoulder under his hand in a rough hold, his eyes on Isabella. "Va tutto bene, la mia bella moglie?"

Isabella giggled a little with a slight nod. "Ora che sei qui, tutto è perfetto."

Winking at her, Demetri then turned his attention to Edward, his lips pursed. "Why don't we go have a little chat?"

Edward look at Demetri for a moment, his face guarded. "Who are you, exactly?"

Isabella snorted and pinched the bridge of her nose as Demetri cocked a brow at the idiot. Looking at Isabella, "Was he always this stupid?" When she shrugged slightly without looking up, he looked back at Edward, a smirk on his face. "Master De Luca." His smirk only grew when he saw Edward's eye flash with understanding and he snorted when he tried to pull his shoulder free. "Now, let's go have that talk."

Isabella, finally picking her head up, watched as Demetri shoved Edward by his shoulder towards the open doors that led to the rose garden for a minute before she shifted her eyes across the room, locking her's with Rose.

The girls stared at each other for a moment before they both lifted the front of their dressed and darted after Demetri and Felix, Alec and Emmett right on their heels. The guys were going in more of an attempt to keep the girls out of it than anything else. Emmett knew exactly how much both of them wanted to get their hands around Cullen's neck and Alec had a pretty good guess.

Off to the side of the room, Aro, Caius and Marcus took in the scene that just happened before, in a much more dignified manner, followed after their niece to see what was going on. They signaled the guards to come as well, but had already decided not to interfere themselves or allow the guards to if it was unnecessary. Whoever that young man was had apparently struck a very unfortunate cord within Volterra's new prince and they wanted to insure Demetri's safety if it came to that.

Though all three very much doubted it would.

When the three brothers reached the balcony, they all blinked at the sight. Rose's very nice and respectable boyfriend, Emmett if memory served, and Demetri's friend Alec had both girls trapped, holding them hostage on the balcony by standing behind them and locking their hands on the railing, one girl locked between their arms. For as small as each young lady was compared to the gentleman behind her, both Emmett and Alec seemed to be having trouble keeping them at bay.

Isabella, not realizing her uncles were right behind her, glared hard at her ex, all amusement from before gone, before turning her sights on Demetri. He stood calmly opposite Edward, who was flat on his back, his white jacket removed and slowly rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. His face gave nothing away, but his eyes did. She could almost see their conversation about Edward replaying behind his now royal blue eyes. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that Demetri was pissed.

And hot as hell.

Biting her bottom lip a little, Isabella cocked her head slightly, pausing in her attempts to get out of Alec's hold and took the time to actually admire the muscle definition of Demetri's arms. She gave her head a shake and decided to oggle later, and instead called out to him, still unaware of the onlookers behind her. "Calci in culo, il marito. Scherzi a parte, battere la merda fuori di lui!"

Demetri glanced over at the balcony at the sound of Isabella's voice, the same blank look on his face for a moment, before redirecting his sights on Edward. "Alec, Emmett, take the girls back inside."

With matching looks that dared them to follow that order, Isabella and Rose cocked a brow over their shoulders at their respective captor.

Both Emmett and Alec looked at the girl they were holding before looking at each other, giving a shake of their heads in agreement. Turning back to Demetri, they spoke at the same time. "Hell no."

Demetri sighed slightly. There was no way he wanted the ladies present for this. Shaking his head slightly, he clicked his tongue. His Princess was about to be pissed off at him, but he really couldn't find it in him to care. "Guards."

Isabella whipped around at the word, her eyes narrowed and challenging at the few brave souls that stepped forward to do Demetri's bidding. That was also when she noticed her uncles. There was a slight sigh of defeat when she saw them knowing that they would agree that her and Rose had no business bearing witness to Edward getting his ass kicked if the looks on their faces was anything to go by.

Glaring slightly at Demetri, Isabella reached over and grabbed Rose's wrist and, once they got out of Emmett and Alec's hold, she pulled Rose behind her, through the ballroom to one of the large windows that had a view of the garden.

Once the girls were inside, Aro stepped up to the railing, setting his hands on it and took in the scene before him without the obstruction. Glancing at Emmett from the corner of his eye, "Do you know who that is?"

Emmett crossed his arms and nodded. "Izzy's ex."

One brow lifting behind his bangs, Aro hummed. "Huh, is it?" Looking back at the garden and seeing the uninvited guest get to his feet, he clicked his tongue before he shrugged and turned to go back inside. Pausing next to the head guard, he lowered his voice. Glancing over his shoulder, Aro smirked. "I don't care if Demetri breaks every bone in his body, that man is not to lay a finger on the prince."

Completely oblivious to the conversation going on up on the balcony, Demetri cracked his knuckles. "I'm curious just how well you can fare against someone a little closer to your own size. Or, just how well you like getting hit in the face by someone bigger than you."

Edward glared at Demetri as he ran the back of his hand over the cut on his lip from the fucker's ring. "She deserved it. She broke my arm."

Demetri shrugged. "Irrelevant. She could have ripped your dick off with her bare hand and it still would not qualify as a reason to strike a lady. Also, from what I hear, that was AFTER you hit her, making your point invalid anyways."

Edward's eyes narrowed even more. "Then you heard wrong."

Demetri just shrugged again. "Then so be it. However, regardless of the fact I believe her over you, that still doesn't negate the fact you stuck a lady." A cool smirk then lifted the corner of Demetri's lips. "That just so happens to now be my wife. Felix, do you recall what happened to the last braindead bastard that tried that?"

Felix, who had been standing off to the side with Demetri's jacket draped over his arm, snorted with a slight nod. "I'm pretty sure you shattered his face. Isn't he still in the hospital?"

Demetri shook his head slightly. "No, he now resides in the dungeons awaiting sentencing for attacking the princess, I believe."

Edward looked back and forth between the two, not sure whether he believed the big fucker or not. Deciding it was more a scare tactic than anything, Edward sneered. "You don't fucking scare me."

Demetri smirked again as he turned back. "I don't want to scare you. If you're scared, that takes all the fun out of kicking your ass."

*X*

Inside, Isabella and Rose watched Demetri and Edward banter back and forth for a few minutes, both of them jumping slightly at the sound of a voice from behind them.

"I am relatively sure that Demetri wanted you in here so you were not privy to what was occurring out there."

The both turned with owlish wide eyes to Isabella's uncle Marcus that stood behind them, his arms crossed and face amused. Isabella turned back to the window, looking back and forth a few times before she looked at her uncle, her bottom lip trembling slightly at the thought of him making her move. "But, but Uncle Mark..."

Marcus chuckled and held up a hand. "I see nothing. Don't let your Uncle Aro catch you, however."

Both girls gave him beaming smiles as he walked away and turned back to the window just in time to see Demetri's fist make solid contact with Edward's mouth, the look on Demetri's face borderline murderous.

Isabella blinked and Rose brought her fist up to her mouth and bit into the back of her knuckles to try and muffle her voice. "Ooh, damn. What do you think the moron said?"

Isabella shook her head, her eyes wide. "I haven't the slightest." Then she grinned up at her best friend. "But that was fucking hot."

Rose smirked and nodded a little. "Now do you understand why I was always all for watching my monkey man beat the ever living shit out of people?"

Isabella nodded in earnest and both girls turned back to the window to watch the show that was just about to be over.

*X*

Demetri pulled his fist back with a growled covered grunt and looked at his knuckles. Giving his head a shake, his face disgusted, he scoffed. "Did you actually bite me? What are you, five?" He was so annoyed over the fact he was just bit, he couldn't even take the time to enjoy knocking out at least two of Edward's teeth.

Not able to overcome his shock at the extremely childish action, Demetri blinked a little when the garden was overrun with palace guards. Taking the presented kerchief that was presented to him by a guard, he cocked a brow and waited to hear the reason for the interference as he wrapped it around his bleeding knuckles.

The guard simply shrugged. "Welcome to the life a royal, My Prince. You get to hurt others, we do not allow them to hurt you."

Completely unamused, Demetri glared at him. "For the record, I am not a fan of this."

The guard snorted. "And neither is My Lady Majesty. It is something you need to either get used to, or take up with His Royal Highness."

Everyone in the gardens turned to look at Edward when his voice cut into the conversation as he struggled to get to his feet. "This isn't over, you son of a bitch."

Demetri narrowed his eyes further at Edward as he was picked up by two other guards. "You're Goddamn right this isn't over, Cane Bastardo. For the future of your health, you had better pray I never see you again. If I do, missing teeth will be the least painful thing I do to you and palace guards will not alway be around to save your ass." Then a dark smirk pulled at his lips as he took a step closer to Edward and lowered his voice. "Something to keep in mind, Cane Bastardo; by all technicalities, I'm a prince now and no longer held to the same laws as you. Come near my wife again and you will learn the definition of diplomatic immunity."

Edward glowered at him, his eyes narrowing into slits as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth and the split in his lip. "Isabella is mine and will always..."

Demetri cut Edward off by once again shoving his fist down his throat. "Last I checked, she was mine and the only way that is going to change is over my dead fucking body."

Edward dropped his head and spit a mouthful of blood onto Demetri's shoes making him grunt in distaste. Glaring hard, Edward sneered. "That can be arranged."

Lifting his foot and looking at the dark red splatter, Demetri's lip curled. "Disgusting." He then lifted his eyes and cocked a brow. "You truly are the definition of 'Low class, No class' aren't you? I suppose, however, you cannot expect much from one that would lower themselves to striking a lady." He then snapped his fingers and gave the guards a signal to let Edward go. "Speaking of, and I cannot I believe I didn't think of this the last time that was brought up. My apologies for forgetting this."

Though Demetri's dominant hand was his right, there was no doubt to anyone in the gardens that the back of his left hand didn't hurt something fierce when it connected with Edward's cheek. It also answered the unspoken question of the guards as to why they were told to let him go.

Pursing his lips as the guards once again picked Edward up and turned and walked away, Demetri growled slightly as Felix came to stand next to him. "Cazzo stupido idiota cane bastardo."

Felix snorted hard before he laughed out loud. "He actually BIT you?"

Unwrapping his knuckles and showing the chunk of missing skin, Demetri grunted. "Like a dog."

Getting a closer look and pulling a face at the nasty looking wound, Felix pulled a face. "Your wife is going to freak."

As he rewrapped his hand, Demetri shrugged. "Not a lot I can do about it, is there?"

Looking up at the balcony when the princess' voice floated to their ears, Felix shook his head. "Not anymore."

Demetri also looked up to the balcony and sighed slightly as he looked at his wife. She was going to be pissed. Still, he squared his shoulders and, after taking his jacket back from Felix, made his way up the steps and to her side.

When Demetri was about at the top of the steps, Isabella smiled at him. "Feel better? Once the guards took Edward inside, I figured the ban of my being outside was lifted."

Demetri chuckled and nodded his head. "Marginally, actually."

Grinning at him, Isabella crossed her arms. "So, what happened to make the guards piss themselves like that?"

Demetri's face flattened. "You were watching?" Once he saw the look that overtook Isabella's face at the question, he sighed. "Of course you were."

When Demetri shifted his jacket from his injured arm to the other one, Isabella's eyes went wide at the blood covered cloth around his hand. Not really thinking about what she was doing, her hands shot out and grabbed his. "Whose blood is that?"

Grinding his teeth together with a wince, Demetri grunted. "Mine." Taking his hand back, "Your ex is comparable to dog in more than one way." He then sighed when he saw Isabella cock a brow at him. "He bit me."

Isabella blinked at him, nearly unable to comprehend the words that just came out of his mouth. Her voice was slow when she finally spoke. "He bit you? Like, 'grr, sink his teeth in your skin' bit you?" Her nose wrinkled when he nodded. "Eww, that's fucking gross." Grabbing Demetri by the wrist, she gave his arm a tug and tried to pull him inside with her, much to his amusement.

Pressing his lips together to smother his snicker, Demetri cleared his throat. "What are you doing?"

Looking far less amused than her husband, Isabella cocked a brow at him. "You don't know where his mouth has been. I am going to clean the bite mark."

When Demetri went to open his mouth to argue with her, he snapped his mouth shut again at the sight of the glare she was giving him. Instead of declining, he gave her an indulgent smile. "Yes, Dear."

Demetri allowed Isabella to drag him inside, saying nothing, but lifted his arm and gave Felix the finger behind her back when he started laughing and winked at Rose when she whispered 'smart move' as the Prince and Princess passed her.


	12. Chapter 12

"Yes, Tesoro. I am positive that it doesn't hurt." Demetri knew he sounded irritated, but damn it, the son of a bitch bit him nearly two days ago. It wasn't going to hurt forever and the constant asking if his hand was alright had begun to grate his nerves. He would concede that the wound left behind was a pretty nasty one, but it was one of those that looked worse than it was.

He knew she felt bad about him getting hurt at the reception, but what she failed to see was two things. She didn't invite the prick to attend and she didn't put HIM in the position to get bit in the first place. No, he did that himself. She was trying to blame his injury on herself and that was going to drive him nuts faster than the constant questions of his health.

Currently, Demetri was flat on his back on a couch in his living room watching his wife pace the floor. They had decided that instead of letting the De Luca estate sit empty because Demetri refused to sell it, until Isabella took over the throne, they were going to stay there and not in the palace. Then, should they have more than one child in the future, it would be passed on the second since the first one got the crown.

That moment, they were waiting on the car service that was going to take them to the airport and Demetri was beginning to wonder if her current agitation was really because her rabid dog of an ex bit him, or that they were getting ready to go on their honeymoon. It would be both adorable and endearing if her nerves would stop fraying his.

He watched her bit her lip and turn to look at him and knew what was coming before she even opened her mouth. She certainly didn't disappoint.

"Maybe we should change the bandage again before the car gets here."

Demetri rolled his eyes and dropped his arm across them. "You changed it ten minutes ago, Stella; it's fine."

"Well, just let me see it."

Demetri then sighed as he looked over at her before a smirk pulled at his lips. Hoisting himself to a sitting position, he grinned and stood. "You want to see it?" When she nodded and walked over to him, Demetri raised his wrapped hand to the full length of his reach above his head, his smirk still in place. "Go ahead."

Isabella looked up at his hand before level Demetri with a glare. Even standing on the couch he knew she couldn't reach that high. That, however, didn't stop her from jumping and trying to grab his wrist.

After a couple of tries, she huffed and crossed her arms. "You know I can't reach that high."

Demetri nodded with a grin. "Yes, I do. What's more, so do you. Don't you feel silly for trying?"

Huffing again, Isabella nodded once. "Kinda, yeah."

Grin growing, Demetri lowered his hand and poked her in the nose with his finger. "Wonderful. Then you finally feel the way you have been acting."

Isabella scoffed slightly when she put that together. "You're an asshole."

Demetri chuckled. "Agreed. But, when in desperate times."

Isabella's face pinched up as her eyes narrowed. "You're such a jerk."

When she went to storm away, Demetri reached out and grabbed her wrist, twirling her back to him so she was held to his chest, his fingers lacing together behind her back to hold her there. Smiling down at her, "You're pretty."

Blinking up at her extremely amused husband, Isabella tripped over her tongue a few times before getting it to work. Shaking her head, "You can't do that."

Demetri hummed as he pursed his lips together. "I might be new to this marriage thing, but I am pretty sure I am allowed to compliment my wife."

Isabella made a noise between a defeated groan and an annoyed huff. "Not in the middle of an argument."

Grinning again, Demetri chuckled. "You're adorable."

Choking on her laughter so it wouldn't come out, Isabella tried to scold him, but even she knew it didn't sound like it. "Demetri, stop it."

Grin turning to a wide smile at the defusal of the situation, Demetri decided to just play with her. "No, really. You're like a little kitten.

Smirking up at him, Isabella cocked a brow. "Yeah, a kitten that will claw the shit out of you."

Humming again, Demetri pulled her tighter against him. "Hmm, kinky. I like it."

Pulling back again with a squeak, Isabella looked up at him with wide eyes. "Demetri Angelo."

Demetri winked at her, but before he could respond, there was a knock at the door. Glancing towards the noise, he pouted slightly. "Such a pity." Then he glanced down at her with a grin. "However, it is quite the flight."

Isabella just grunted and pulled herself out of his hold. "You're such a pervert. The absolute last place anything is ever going to happen is on a plane full of people."

Demetri blinked at her once but didn't comment. What made her think they were taking a commercial flight was beyond him, but he dropped it deciding to instead let her be surprised when they got to the airfield.

Turned out that might not have been the best idea he ever had.

When Isabella got out of the car inside the hanger, she looked over at Demetri and cocked a brow when one of the groundsmen came over and struck up a conversation like you would between very good friends. It wasn't until the guy started talking about the recent repairs that were done due to a storm and he referred to the jet as Demetri's that she seemed to get a little testy for reasons that Demetri could not figure out.

When he turned to her, she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "You own your own plane?"

Glancing back at the hanger hand, Demetri pursed his lips and turned back. "Yes, and this is upsetting to you why, exactly?"

Isabella shook her head. "It's not, my family has one too. I was just curious why you didn't tell me before we got here."

Demetri shrugged a little. "Didn't seem relevant. My telling you wouldn't have changed it."

Looking at him a long moment, Isabella pursed her lips and nodded. "Alright, I'll give you that. Is there anything else like this I should know about?"

Demetri hummed a little and shook his head. "You and I would both be surprised if there was." When his wife nodded at him, he then held his arm out towards the plane. "It is ready when you are, Stella."

Giving him a nod, Isabella followed his request and headed for the steps. Giving a smile to the pilot when he was introduced, she went up the few steps and entered the plane, Demetri right behind her. Letting her eyes roam the space, she was able to tell right away that this was used as a company plane. It was more or less set up as a flying office with the way the chairs and fold down tables were arranged.

Isabella sat in some random seat, Demetri choosing to sit across from her apposed to beside her. Once she was settled, she cocked her head to the side. "It's a two hour flight, if that. Why take a charter?"

Demetri shrugged as he got comfortable, closing his eyes once he was settled. "I hate commercial flights with a blinding passion. I don't care if it's a ten minute flight, you will never catch me on one again. The reason I have the plane is so I don't have to deal with other people I do not choose to and I do not give a shit how that makes me sound. Far too many times there have been unneeded and unwanted happenings. I would rather make a twenty hour flight completely alone than ever have to deal with those again. Besides." Opening his eyes, he tilted his head, "the number of business trips and fights I take warrant the privacy and expense of a jet."

Brows drawing slightly, Isabella licked her lips. "How often are you going to have make those?"

Demetri hummed slightly in thought of the question before clicking his tongue. "A couple of days once or twice a month at least until I have someone I can trust not to destroy everything and can go in my place."

Isabella nodded. "So, when Felix graduates in three months?"

Demetri nodded at the question. "At least that, yes. He'll be hired on then, but there is still a grace period for him to learn the position and the company from the inside and not just what he has picked up from listening to me bitch about it over the years." When he saw a slightly melancholy look settle on Isabella's face at the news, he sighed and leaned forward. "I promise that nothing that the company demands is going to get between you and I. Just like the estate, I don't want to sell it off to the highest bidder. All that is going to happen then is it is going to be destroyed, broken up and hundreds of people, some of which I have known nearly all my life, are going to be out of a job and I refuse to let that happen. You come first, don't worry."

Giving him a small smile, Isabella nodded and changed the topic of conversation to trying to pry out of her very stubborn husband what he had planned for them over the next two weeks in Greece.

*X*

When the newlyweds landed at the small hanger that Demetri's plane was going to be housed at, they were met by the small fason of royal guards that were sent off before them. Neither one of them actually wanted the spies, but knowing the over protectiveness of Isabella's uncles, they were polite and didn't say anything.

However, Demetri had no intention of allowing the Italian guards to cross any lines he didn't think they should while in a different country.

The drive to the accommodations he chose was over an hour long. Demetri didn't want to spend their honeymoon in the more tourist infested areas and instead decided to rent a vacation home outside Volos and not a hotel within the city. That, and it lessened the uproar and chances of something amiss happening.

When they arrived, they were greeted by the only three staff members Demetri wasn't able to say no to. While the estate offered the guests up to fifteen staff members, they were mostly optional. However, these three lived at the manor on a regular basis to keep up the residence and came with the rental regardless of use. So, other than the driver they already met, there was a butler, a maid and a stable hand because there was livestock on the grounds and he was a demand of the animals owner's.

After they got out of the car and the butler retrieved their bags from the trunk, they were led inside and up to the master suite of the house. Once there, the butler turned to them and in his native language of Greek, told them to summon him if there was a need. Isabella, having no idea what he said, smiled and nodded while Demetri responded in kind they would making the smile on Isabella's face morph into one of shock and awe.

Once the butler left, Isabella crossed her arms and shook her head. "You speak Greek?"

Turning to her with a confused expression, Demetri nodded. "My mother was Greek, so yes, I know the language. Did I not tell you that?" When he got a slow shake of her head in answer, he blinked. "Oh, I thought I had. It's where I got my name from. My Grandfather was named Demetrius and I was given his nickname of Demetri because my father didn't really get along with my grandparents, but couldn't deny my mother's request to give me the family name on her side and that was the compromise. My middle name is my grandfather's name on my father's side."

Isabella just stared at Demetri for a moment before she nodded. "My parents drew my name out of a hat because they couldn't agree. It was between Isabella and Jessica. Isabella was drawn and here we are. Now, what else don't I know about you that might be prudent knowledge to have right now?"

Demetri pressed his lips together and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. When he looked back at her, he rubbed the back of his neck and grinned at the cocked brow he was receiving. "progiagiá is still alive and wants to meet you."

Blinking at him, Isabella's lip curled at the unknown term but the way Demetri was acting, she had a feeling she wasn't going to like the translation. "What, or better yet, who is Yiayia?"

Demetri's grin only widened at the sound of her voice. "Yiayia is my very blunt, straightforward, old fashioned Grandmother."

Isabella looked at Demetri for another moment, letting that description sink in before she blinked and tried to talk. "You... Your... old fashioned... Demetri Angelo! What the fuck? Is this not the same woman that refused to come to the wedding because of the circumstances behind it?"

Demetri shook his head. "No, that was my father's mother. Yiayia is almost eighty and can't travel anymore."

Nodding a little and crossing her arms, Isabella cocked a brow. "And who was it that called me a gold digging hussy?"

At that, it was Demetri's turn to blink. "I beg your pardon?"

She nodded again. "Yeah, it was the way someone addressed me in a card. There was no name, just 'to Metri and the gold digging hussy."

Lip curling, Demetri shook his head. "I have no idea. The only person that has ever called me Metri was my mother though not since I was little and I very much doubt it was her. Besides, of the two of us, how would YOU be the gold digger?" When Isabella shrugged slightly, he closed the distance between them and set his hands on her hips. "As for Yiayia, it's an hour at most and not until the end of our trip. She has something for you and it's really important to her." Setting his forehead against hers, Demetri nuzzled their noses. "Please?"

Pulling a little face, Isabella sighed slightly. "Fine. But if she calls me a gold digging hussy, I am kicking you in the balls."

Demetri chuckled slightly as he pulled her closer to him. "Deal, Tesoro."


	13. Chapter 13

For their first day, Demetri and Isabella didn't care to do much. They stayed on the grounds, taking the horses out and exploring the area. For lunch they were packed a small meal by the cook that consisted of fruits, cheese and bottle of wine, something that Demetri explained was pretty common for the area. A lot of the culture for where they were staying was adopted from Rome since it wasn't that far from them.

As they worked their way through the bottle of merlot, their laid back day got a little more interesting. For both being Italian, neither one ever truly obtained the taste for the drink and, though they both did drink it, it was only a glass here and there with dinner, not an entire bottle in one sitting. However, after the first glass the alcohol started to go down far too easy for both of them, teaching them that a wine buzz was far different than that of hard liquor.

It started innocently enough. They got in a food fight and when Demetri got a grape to go down Isabella's shirt, his fogged mind thought it was a good idea to throw his hands up and let out an exuberant 'Two points'. This caused Isabella to let out a noise and dive at him, tackling him to his back.

Chuckling slightly, Demetri pushed himself up on his elbows when Isabella seated herself on his stomach. He watched as she fished the grape out of her shirt, his eyes following the fruit when it became visible. Though he could hear her talking, he couldn't pay attention enough to know what she was saying. However, since there was a giggle in her voice, he also wasn't concerned about it.

Shifting his weight, Demetri lifted and arm, catching Isabella's wrist and brought her hand to his mouth, letting his tongue flick out and, watching his wife's eyes, pulled the grape from her fingers and into his mouth.

Isabella's breath caught in her throat mid-word, the feel of Demetri's tongue sliding along her skin making her forget what she was even saying and instead follow the muscle behind his lips. Once it vanished, she lifted her eyes and found herself looking into smoldering seas of dark blue. Nearly whimpering, her eyes returned to Demetri's mouth when his jaw moved, making his lips pucker slightly.

A small smirk appeared at the corner of Demetri's mouth as he leaned into Isabella, swallowing the grape as he captured her lips with his. Using the grip he still held on her wrist, he used that to pull her off kilter and rolled with her so she was then pinned beneath him on the blanket. Demetri lifted himself a little and after Isabella was more stretched out he resettled himself.

Lacing their fingers together and moving her arms and holding them above his wife's head, Demetri then tilted his head and nipped at her lips, a soft moan from both of them sounding out when their tongues met.

Isabella arched her back, pressing her chest harder against Demetri's when he rolled his hips into hers. Pulling at her hands, it took her a few tries, but she was finally able to pull them free of Demetri's hold. Moving them to his chest, she began to fumble with the buttons of his shirt. She conceded that the boldness was probably the wine's doing, but when she finally completed the task, she ran her fingers back up his stomach and chest, pushing his shirt over his shoulders and down his arms before dragging her nails into his skin on the return to his abs.

A deep groan sounded from Demetri's throat at the slight pain of her nails, but all it really did was push his rising desire for her higher. WIth a rougher roll of his hips against her, he moved to lash his lips to her neck when her head dropped back and broke their kiss. Tugging his arms out of his sleeves, he tossed his shirt over to the side without releasing Bella's neck. The thought o do so never occurred to him until he went to remove hers and had no choice.

When Demetri lifted up to toss her shirt away, Bella took that moment to get an up close and personal look at her husband's bare torso and found she actually had to swallow a mouthful of drool. She knew he had a nice body having seen it on more than one occasion before the wedding, mostly on accident, but hadn't had the time or mindset to really see the muscle definition of the washboard he called abs or just how well defined the 'V' of his hips was. Even his arms were cut flawlessly. There wasn't an ounce of fat anywhere on the man and she had to bite her lip to keep the whorish sounding moan from the sight from being heard. Though whether the moan was from the sight of Demetri's chest or the feel of the bulge in his jeans pressing against her, that was debatable.

When she heard a chuckle, her eyes snapped up and locked on the amused eyes of her husband as he smirked at her. Turning away quickly to hide the flames that lit up her cheeks, her eyes slid closed when she felt Demetri's lips once again on her neck, softer than before.

Sliding his lips up the column of Bella's neck, Demetri slid his hand down her thigh to her knee before gripping it and hiking it up over his hip. Not able to get the amusement of her reaction completely out of his voice, he spoke low in her ear sending an unknown to him shudder down her spine. "Don't get all shy on me yet, Tesoro. We haven't even done anything."

Isabella sucked in a breath when he once again rolled his hips against hers, she tried to turn her head to look at him. "This is more than I've done before."

Though so many things came to mind with the admission, Demetri just hummed a little and went back to feasting on her neck. He knew she had never actually had sex before, but he was positive she had done something. However, since wasn't the case, he decided to show her just how much there was one could do without doing that. There was plenty of time to consummate their marriage later.

At least, that was the plan until his wife shrieked.

Shooting up to his knees, pulling her with him and looking the direction she was. a very dark looking glare settled on his face when he saw what she did. Reaching over and grabbing his shirt, Demetri wrapped it around Isabella's shoulders to cover her, he snapped at the guard that was in the extremely wrong place. "Fucking seriously? I am getting just about sick of all of you."

Demetri and Isabella both glared at the guard that seemed to have gone stupid or something because all he did was stare back at them. Finally reaching the boiling point, Isabella screamed at him. "Go the fuck away, Asshole!" Once the guard turned tail and vanished again, she set her head against Demetri's chest and closed her eyes when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I am so sorry, Demetri."

Demetri was still glaring where the guard was a moment ago. His voice was dark and pissed off when he responded. "Not as sorry as he is going to be." Giving her back a little pat, he looked at the top of Isabella's head, his voice holding none of the anger from a second ago. "Come on. Where there is one, there are five. Let's head back to the house. It's getting late anyways."

Looking up at Demetri, Isabella sighed. "It's his job to protect us, Demetri."

Giving her a look in response, Demetri shook his head. "No, that's my job. His job is make it so I don't have to and I am going to make damn sure that he and the other fuckers know that."

*X*

Since Isabella decided to take the long way back to the house to give Demetri more time to calm down, it was nearly dark by the time they arrived and the longer ride did nothing to settle him down. If she were honest, if anything, he was more upset now than he was when they left the grove they were in. She knew he had every reason to be pissed off, she was more than a little annoyed too, but she didn't want him to be. It was the first day of their trip and she would be damned if a guard fucked up the entire thing after how well it HAD been going.

After the horses were dropped off at the stables, Bella walked with her arms wrapped around one of Demetri's as her mind whirled to come up with a way to keep him from going to beat the shit out of the guard and instead redirect his attention and keep him with her. It wasn't until they reached the main house that an idea popped into her head.

They entered through the kitchen where the cook was bustling around, humming to the softly playing music. She turned to them with a smile and a cheery attitude as she spoke to them, Demetri giving her a nod in response and Bella smiling like she knew what was going on even though she had no idea what the woman just said.

Pulling Demetri out the kitchen with her, she forced him to head to the side of the house they were staying in and not to the other side where the guards were housed. Though at first the task was far easier said than done, she was nothing if not a little one tracked minded in her still slightly buzzed state to get the evening back on track. Not having even the slightest idea what she was doing having never really been in the position before since her only other long term relationship was with a guy that refused to do anything before marriage, she threw caution to the wind and fell back on the only thing she had.

She had read a few trashy romance novels over the years and it was time to put those to the test.

Since presently Demetri was acting like a girl, she decided her only option was to take on the role of the guy until such time as he got with the program and got his head back in the game she wanted to play and not the one he wanted to with the guards.

When they were in the hallway a few feet from their door, she looked up at Demetri and smiled. "I think I'm going to get a shower before dinner."

Demetri looked down at her and nodded before looking over his shoulder. "You do that. I'll come get you when it's ready."

Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes slightly, Isabella shook her head. _I don't think so, Sparky._ Pulling her arm from his, she hoped to catch him enough off-guard for her idea to work. Instead of opening their door and going inside, she whirled around on him, planting her hands on his chest and pushed his back into the wall next to their door. Not letting him get out more than a surprised grunt, she pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

The grunt at the surprising show of strength from his tiny wife morphed into a moan at the feel of her once again pressed tightly against him. Responding in kind, Demetri grabbed her by the hips and pulled her even closer and licked the crease of her lips, another moan sounding out when she opened for him. With every caress of her tongue against his, his anger subsided and was replaced once again with a flood of desire.

Using the hold he had on her hips, he changed their position so she was between him and door. Flawlessly, he took over their kiss, the last of his murderous thoughts leaving his mind as everything he was about to do to his wife took over completely and this time, there would be no interruptions.

Letting go of one of Isabella's hips, Demetri opened the door, catching her before she could stumble back with the support gone. Not breaking their kiss, he bent slightly and scooped his bride into his arms. After she wrapped her arms around his neck, he then pushed the door open with his foot and crossed the threshold.

Kicking the door closed again, he set Isabella on her feet and reached behind him, locking the deadbolt. Giving her a smirk as he pulled her to his chest, he dipped his head and set his forehead against hers.

"Now, about that shower."

 **Okay, so... now that we're all caught up to before I pulled this the first time, I will begin to post new chapters for it tomorrow.**

 **For tonight...**

 **Have a good one!**

 **Speklez**


	14. Chapter 14

**Now that things seems to have leveled out in my personal life, I'm back to writing. It'll be slow and steady at first, but never fear... as always, I always come back, even if it takes me a while. I also can't say I won't take a step back again. Things in my life are balancing on a sword's tip, and pretty much anything can throw it back off kilter.**

 **Just know that if/when I vanish, I will ALWAYS come back eventually.**

 **~Speklez**

 ***X***

Cuddled into her husband's side, the blushing princess stared out the balcony doors at the darkening sky, her mind running through the last two hours. She had at first debated the point of the shower when there was no way they were any cleaner after they got out than they were when they went in, but when you add to it their after dinner activities, the shower was completely fucking pointless.

Her head was on Demetri's chest, her ear pressed to his skin just above his heart. She listened to the rhythmic beat and his steady breaths, relaxing more with every one. She wished she could join him in a nap, but when she closed her eyes, all she saw was his bare body above her and his blue eyes dark with lust boring into her's. It wasn't necessarily a problem. It was just extremely counterproductive in trying to fall asleep when all it did was once again set her blood on fire with desire.

She shivered, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she was once again bombarded with the memory of his hands mapping her body in the shower. It had been the first time she had ever done something like that, her personal experience with a man stopping at heavy making out with clothes still on. It had only been on accident that she had seen a naked man with her own eyes and as his body once again flashed through her mind, the blush on her cheeks darkened.

 _Now, about that shower?_

The tone of his voice and look in his eyes had desire dancing in her spine and mouth going dry. No one had ever looked at her like that before and, no matter how many times they had ran the bases before they got married, there was that line in the sand they didn't cross. Well, that line was destroyed with their vows, washed away and filled in with an overwhelming need.

He had never pushed her to do anything she wasn't ready for and he promised he never would, but when he looked at her like that, all her inhibitions about having sex went out the window. The reason behind their marriage may not have been ideal, but she married what could only be described as the perfect guy.

A quiet hum sounded from her throat when she recalled the feel of his hands as they roamed her body in the shower; soft and gentle at first until she started to relax under his actions. That had taken her a few minutes though, still reeling from her first glimpse of a naked Demetri. She knew he had a nice body having seen him shirtless a number of times, but she was in no way prepared for the sight of what she could only picture in her head with nothing to go on but the feel of it through his pants.

He was fucking huge.

If she thought the time in the shower was the end of their activities for the night, she was sorely mistaken. When they finally left the bathroom, no cleaner really than when they went in, their dinner was waiting for them on the coffee table in the sitting area of the bedroom. How the maid got it in there when Isabella was positive Demetri locked the door was beyond her, but it was there and neither one of them had food on the brain.

 _ **FLASHBACK**_

Steam billowed out of the bathroom when the newlyweds finally emerged, Isabella in a robe and Demetri with a towel wrapped and settled low on his hips. The princess had a blush on her cheeks but a smile on her face and the prince had a smirk on his.

At first she had been understandably shy to his touch, but it hadn't taken much to get her to relax. He still had no plans to push her past what she felt she was ready to do, but she seemed willing enough to test her own boundries.

The scent of Dakos, Kreatopita, and Dolmadakia filled the room but was ignored by the couple when Demetri grabbed his wife's wrist and spun her back to face him, pulling her close and pressing his lips back to her's. He moaned against her lips, licking the seal when he felt her tiny little fingers on his stomach.

Gripping her by the hips, he lifted her feet from the floor and started his way to the curtained off bed. With her having said she never did this before, he didn't want to be the asshole that took his wife's virginity against the shower wall. However, with as responsive as she had been, he doubted she would have cared.

He did have his fun with her, though.

Isabella wrapped her legs around his hips, her arms going around his neck as she melted into him and his kiss. A rock of anticipation started to grow in her gut, but when her back hit the mattress, it changed to one of uncertainty. Was she really ready for this? She knew he had experience in this field, he proved it in the shower, but she didn't. Would she be good enough to satisfy him?

Her thoughts, however, skipped out on her when he moved from her lips to her neck. Her back arched and a quiet moan slipped passed her lips. Her fingers and nails raking against Demetri's skin just below the towel, his muscles twitching at the action. Her head turned to the side to give him more room as her eyes slid closed.

Demetri continued his assault on her neck as her hands run down his back slowly. Every little kiss, lick and nip making her hands stop and her back arch up into his touch. Those lips making her feel like she is going to combust with pleasure before he even gets to the good stuff. She grabs his ass hard as he hits a particularly good spot right below her left ear and gives off a deep, throaty moan of pleasure.

"Please," she begs.

"Please what?" he questions as he takes a nip of where her neck and shoulder meet making her squirm under him.

"Please, anything, everything…" she moans out.

That smirk that she fell for from the start lifted the corner of Demetri's lips as a brow lifted. "Anything, huh?"

"I need more, always more. I can't get enough of you, my husband."

 _ **END FLASHBACK**_

Bella was ripped out of her memories when Demetri used the arm she was laying on and moved her from beside him to laying on top of him. She let out a surprised squeak causing Demetri to chuckle deep in his throat as he looked at her through slitted eyes. His voice was a combination of amusement and tiredness. However, it didn't stop him from picking on her.

His brow raised and a smile pulled at his lips. "I have to say, Tessoro, I never thought I would be jealous of my leg."

Bella's mouth went dry and her eyes even wider. She wasn't... Dropping her face and burying it in Demetri's chest to hide the dark crimson blush on her cheeks, she whimpered. "Oh, god."

Dropping his head back on the pillow, Demetri closed his eyes again and turned to his side, pulling his wife closer to his chest and tucked her head under his chin. "Go back to sleep, Tessoro. We've got a long day tomorrow."


	15. Chapter 15

Sighing for the umpteeth time, Demetri leaned agaisnt the door jam, his arms crossed and head back. He had planned a very special day for he and his wife before they went to see his grandmother, but she was seeming to do everything she could to hang out in the bathroom. When they got up, she had vanished and hadn't said a word to him. Though he found it cute at first, thinking it was more to do with something else, after so long, it was becoming quite annoying.

Picking his head up, he looked at the watch on his wrist, making a face. It's been over an hour and there hasn't been a single noise from the bathroom in the last fifteen minutes, leading him to guess she was sitting on the counter, or pacing the floor, trying to figure out how she would act that evening.

Having had enough of the avoidance, he pushed off the jam and walked the distance to the closed door, tapping on it lightly with his knuckles. "Come on, Tessoro. You're being ridiculous. This is our last day here. Do you really want to spend it in the bathroom?"

On the other side of the door, Bella looked at herself in the mirror, her mind racing and stomach in knots over what she knew was going to happen later. She had never met someone described as 'old-fashioned' before and she was worried about how she was going to be seen, knowing her marriage to Demetri was anything but that. When she heard his voice, she jumped, her head snapping to the door with wide eyes. Ridiculous? Did he really just say that? She thought she was acting pretty normal for her position being what it was. She was going to meet someone that was, very clearly, someone you met BEFORE wedding bells, not over two weeks after the fact.

And what a two weeks it's been.

She had no idea what to expect when Demetri said he would plan the honeymoon since she wouldn't let him help with the wedding itself, but she wasn't disappointed. They had done everything from wine tours and tastings to horseback riding on the beach. It was a beautiful vacation and it was their last day in Greece before they headed home in the morning; which meant it was the day she was supposed to meet Yiayia. That wasn't for several more hours, but still, she was nervous and thought she was rightfully so.

Demetri, on the other hand, was starting to lose his patience. With a growl in his throat, he pulled his wallet from his pocket, opening it and pulling out a credit card. In less than fifteen seconds, he popped the lock and pushed the door open, crossing his arms and again leaning on the door jam. He wasn't often upset with Bella, but at the moment, he was getting there, and his voice showed it.

"You're acting like a baby. You realize that, right?"

She did, but that didn't stop her from glaring at him. "I think I'm acting pretty appropriate for this."

Raising a brow in challenge, Demetri pursed his lips. "You think that hiding in the bathroom from a day spent on the water is appropriate? I think it's ridiculous."

Blinking, Bella's lips parted before she shook her head. "No, about meeting your grandma today."

Nodding slowly once, Demetri hummed in his throat. "You mean the thing that wasn't happening for another ten hours that you've known about for two weeks and, in all your great wisdom, have actually moved up in the plans because you made us miss our reservation? Yiayia is seventy-seven fucking years old, Isabella. How scary and horrible do you really think she is that you're locking yourself in a bathroom to avoid her?"

Bella's shoulders slouched, head dropping down to her chest. "It's not that." Turning to look at her husband, she sighed. "It's just... what if she doesn't like me? She didn't like your dad."

Demetri gave her a flat look. "Because when he was younger, my father was an asshole that thought he was better than the family my mother came from and didn't miss a chance to tell my grandparents just how much so. You see suits and money when you look at me, but that's not the kind of upbringing my mother had. My grandparents, Yiayia more so than Pappoús, are from a small farm that worked their fingers to the bone to provide for my mother. My father, in all his great wisdom, went about things the wrong way. Father made great strides in humility after they were married, but he didn't start out the way he ended. If you would have asked, I would have told you that. This isn't about her liking you or not. I'm her only living relative and she wants to meet my wife. I have to admit, I don't understand the problem with that. Besides, for weeks I have had death threats hurled at me by all three of your uncles, one of which I'm pretty well convinced would actually follow through with it. If I can deal with that, you can spend one goddamn afternoon with my grandmother, Princess."

Flinching hard at the way 'princess' was all but spat at her, Bella frowned and dropped her eyes again. Demetri certainly wasn't the first to say it in such a way it sounded more like a 'fuck you' than anything else, but it was the first time he did it. Feeling about three inches tall, she wrapped her arm around herself, and rubbed the bicep of the other. Her voice was soft, and she was unable to make eye contact. "I'm sorry. You're right." With a quiet sigh, she lifted her eyes, but stopped and dropped them again, not fully able to drink herself to look at Demetri's. She did try to defuse the situation, however, and attempted a smile. "I doubt Uncle Caius would actually kill you, though."

Demetri snorted, not quite ready to let her off the hook just yet. "He's not the one I was talking about. I've known Aro since I was a toddler. He absolutely would kill me, and get away with it, too." He watched a look of agreement slide across his wife's face, but she still wouldn't look at him. After another moment of her refusal to lift her eyes from the floor, he scratched his brow with his thumb. He knew she already hated her title, and he threw that shit in her face without care. Pressing his lips together, he cleared his throat. "I... shouldn't have said it like that."

Still not lifting her eyes, Bella shook her head. "No... no, you were right to it." Sighing hard, she finally looked at him. "I shouldn't have made you. I'm... I'm not good at this. I've never had a meeting with someone's family go well. I've never had any kind of meeting go well. The last time I met my significant other's family was over three years ago, and it was a complete disaster. I know I'm being a brat, but..." Trailing off, not really sure where to take the statement, she sighed and shrugged in the most helpless manner Demetri had ever seen.

Hand coming up by his face, Demetri pressed his thumb to the pad of his middle and forefingers, and his eyes closed. "I truly," opening his eyes and locking them on hers, "could not care less how things went between you and that dog's family. I honestly care more about a single piece of fungus that grows in the Amazon than I care about that." Pushing off the door frame, he closed the distance between them and cupped her cheek in his palm. "Tessoro, you must stop looking for things in our life to compare to that one. I told you before we married that you cannot look for things on the horizon, or they will come, and more easily avoidable arguments, just like this one, will become commonplace. Yes, Yiayia has a tendency to be a bit... difficult at times. She is up there in her life and set in her ways. But I promise, My Darling, all you have to do is be yourself and she'll love you."

Unable to bite it back, the words were out before Isabella was able to stop herself. "That didn't work out so well for your dad when he was himself."

Sighing hard, Demetri clicked his tongue. "Not to speak ill of the dead, but when my father was my age, he was a real son of a bitch. My father came from money, and my mother did not. That made him think he was their better and that it was him doing my grandparents a favor by taking my mother away and giving them one less mouth to feed; that he was doing my mother a favor by raising her in the eyes of society. Rags to riches, so to speak. We married and you made me a prince, but tell me, Isabella, do you think that makes you better than me?" When she shook her head, he smiled slightly. "Then you have nothing to fear." Then, his smile morphed into a smirk. "However, that said, your refusal to have this conversation with me two hours ago does mean you'll be spending far more of the day with her than originally planned."

*X*

Having never been to the countryside, Isabella was glued to the window as Demetri drove through the rolling hill toward his family's farm. It was beautiful, and in a way, almost reminded her of wine country in Italy, though instead of grapes as far as the eyes could see, it was olives.

From where they had been staying, it was about an hour to where they were going, and it wasn't until Demetri pulled to a stop that the bubble in Isabella's stomach began to grow again. It didn't occur to her prior to that, that there could be a problem. When she stood from the car after Demetri opened her door, she looked at him, but spoke low. "She does know I don't speak Greek, right?"

Grinning at her as he shut the door, he set a hand on the small of her back and began to lead her toward the side of the small house, knowing he would find his grandmother outside. Glancing down, he nodded. "Yes, she does. It's broken, but she does know English. If it's necessary, and it might be at first, I'll translate for you."

Returning a nod of understanding, Bella let him lead her to wherever he was heading. Once the passed the house, that was small but seemed in very good repair, Bella blinked at the vast area beyond it. It was sectioned off, each area holding either goats, cows, or pigs, and there was a horse pen, as well as a barn, but unlike the house, it looked like it had seen better days.

Her eyes scanned the area, and she gulped when she saw a black scarf covered head pop up out of a line of vegetation. Her dirt covered hands came up and covered her lips, and Isabella smiled as she climbed to her feet and scrambled out of the garden. "Is that her?"

Smiling himself, Demetri raised his arm to wave and nodded. "That's her."

The little old lady seemed to go back twenty years as she approached, reaching up and cupping Demetri's face with the tips of her age withered fingers. Her voice was heavy laid in an accent, but her words were in a language Bella could understand. "My boy, my little Demetri." Pulling her hands back, she pressed her palms together, and continued to gush. "Look at the man you have become. And so handsome. Thank the Gods, you look like your grandfather.

Unable to help it, Demetri chuckled as he dipped his head and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Chaírete, Yiayia."

Eyes shining slightly, the woman smiled with sadness as she looked at her grandson. "Your mother, she be so proud of you."

A small smile pulled at the corner of Demetri's lips as sadness entered his eyes. "And Father?"

Pure hate filtered across the woman's face as she took a step back and waved a hand. "Bah, that man. May he burn in the deepest pit of Hell."

Isabella's hand came up and covered her mouth as irritation took over as the dominant emotion in Demetri's eyes. "Yiayia."

She merely raised her hand back up, palm in Demetri's face. "I say Bah."

A tight lipped smiled settled on Demetri's lips as he nodded in response. Bella, though, lowered her voice and spoke in English. "She really didn't like your dad, did she?"

Glancing at her, Demetri shook his head. "Trust me, Izzy; he earned that."

Completely ignoring the side conversation, Yiayia sighed before turning slightly. "Come come, we go inside. I'll make tea. I not expecting you for hours."

Following behind her, Demetri grinned. "If you would just let me get you a phone, Yiayia, I could have called to tell you we would be early." Hurrying his steps, he got in from of his grandmother and opened the door for her, much to her amusement.

She reached up and patted his cheek as she passed him. "Such a gentleman." She then looked at him when they were all inside. "But, why I need a phone, Demetri? Who I call, hmm? You're busy. You're a prince now." Almost as if that statement reminded her, she turned and smiled at Isabella, who just gave her a smile in return. "Ah, your princess. Demetri, she's beautiful."

Blushing slightly, Bella cleared her throat. "Thank you."

The old woman's eyes then hardened slightly. "You take good care of my grandson."

There was giggle in her voice when Bella responded, scratching at her temple. "I'm going to try, but he seems far more interested in taking care of me."

There was a finality in the old woman's nod. "As he should. He is the man. It is his job, regardless of title."

With a pompous look on his face, Demetri smirked down at his wife. "Told you." He then grunted when Bella elbowed him in the side.

Once she had the kettle over the fire to heat up, Yiayia turned back to the couple, waving her hands at the table, telling them without words to sit. Taking a seat of her own, she looked at Isabella. "Title is that, something to call you when they know no other to call you." Pointing to Bella, "Princess." Shifting her hand to Demetri, "Master." She then waved a hand. "It means nothing. Something Demetri's dog father never understood was titles do not make the person, My Dear."

Demetri ran a hand down his face, and sighed. "Yiayia..."

Undeterred, she merely cut him off by holding up a finger. "Matteo was dog, and I kill him again if he still turn you into one. You are better than he ever hoped to be. I know this to be true because I raised your mother and she raised you. He put title first, as if it made him better man than the next one to him. For the first many years of your life he told you your Master title meant something great and grand. Don't deny it, Demetri; I know. You were sent to me because of that, and me and Demetrius, we worked it out of you. One summer was all it took in the fields to get you to stop it. And now? Now, you have the bounty of the Gods at your fingertips and what do you do? Hmm? You open doors for old ladies. You pull out your wife's chair. Demetri, you were born twice the man your father could have ever imagined to be. You understand now what he never took the time to consider and I thank the Gods for that because one dog in the family is enough."

More uncomfortable than she had been in a very long time, Bella bit her lip as Demetri's grandmother took him through the ringer. It was never fun to watch someone be torn down like that, but she couldn't help but lean over. "Is this why you called Edward a dog?"

Snorting an unamused sound, Demetri looked over at her, holding up his hand and showing off the wound that had already begun to scar across his knuckles. "No. I called him one because he acted like an actual dog and bit me."

The couple returned their attention back to Yiayia when she cleared her throat. She had her eyes locked on Bella, and Bella gulped. "What have you done in life, to make anyone respect you as a princess?"

Having no desire to get a dressing down like Demetri got from a stranger, Bella decided it was best to just be honest. Scratching the back of her head, she then shook it. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. As a matter of fact, for most of my life, no one even knew I was one."

A spark lit in the back of the old lady's eyes, a brow sliding up to her bandanna. "You never go by it?"

Bella shook her head. "Not if I could help it." She then nodded to Demetri, "I keep telling him to stop it. When I lived in America, at least until recently, I could avoid it. In Italy? I can't escape it, no matter how hard I try."

To her surprise, Yiayia nodded. "Matteo did not earn what he demanded from others, respect or nothing. He expected his title to bring him everything without giving anything back to anyone. He was born to privilege, same as my Demetri; not same as you. Yours is birthright. It is honor. But, it was given to you just for being born. There is no honor in that, My Dear. It is up to you to give it honor. You are young and will have many, many chances, because an entire population depends on you, Child. You have spent your entire life hiding who you are, by hiding what you are. Demetri's money... Matteo's precious privilege... earned by others. It was Demetri's great grandfather that started that company, passed down and taken over by the eldest son. But... should it be desired, it all can be given away. It is not who they are. Not a part of them on the inside. Princess is your blood, from your family, but it also does not make you who you are. You would be you without it. What you must remember, it is not the title that makes you. It is you who makes the title. When an Italian thinks of their princess, do they smile, or do they frown? That is up to you."

The seriousness of the conversation was broken when the kettle on the fire whistled. Demetri excused himself from the table, knowing where his grandmother kept the leaves and such, and he took the task of gathering them.

For the next several hours, the three spoke of much lighter subjects, Bella learning a few of Demetri's dirty little secrets from his childhood, and Bella answering Yiayia's questions about hers. Bella was helping with dinner preparations when she heard her phone ring in her purse on the back of her chair.

Eyes wide as she picked up a towel to wipe off her hands, she glanced at Demetri. "Wow. There's reception all the way out here?" When there was an unamused 'Tessoro' from him, she shook her head as she dug it out. "Oh, no... I find this amazing, actually." Glancing at the screen, and even not recognizing the number, she shrugged and answered it anyway. "Hello?"

" _Is this Isabella De Luca?"_

Smiling with a slight giggle at her married name, she leaned on her forearm on the back of her chair. "Yes it is. Who's calling?"

In his seat across from where Bella was standing, Demetri watched as, little by little, the happiness on his wife's face began to fade. Her lips slowly began to fall in the corners, and her eyes dimmed The tips of her fingers lifted and pressed to her lips. Finally, she dropped her phone and, with a choked 'excuse me', ran from the room through the open door and into the garden.

Yiayia watched after her before turning back to Demetri, watching as he stood and reached for Bella's phone that laid on the table and put it to his ear. "Who's this?"

" _My name is Paula and I'm calling for Mrs. De Luca."_

Not even slightly in the mood, Demetri's entire being changed before his grandmother's eyes, and she grinned. "This is Demetri De Luca. Who are you, and what the hell did you just say to my wife?"

" _As I said, my name is..._ "

Pulling the phone from his ear when there was a beep, his pressed his lips together when he saw who was on the other line. "Oh, this can't be good." Putting the phone back to his ear, he cut 'Paula' off. "Thank you for calling." Saying nothing else, he hung up that line and answered the other. "Lord Caius."

There was a long pause before his voice came through the line. " _She was called."_

Glancing where Bella vanished, Demetri licked his lips and set his hand on the table top. "She got a call." Looking down at the table, he lowered his voice, not knowing where his wife was at the moment, and too low for his grandmother to hear. "It's Aro, isn't it?" He closed his eyes at the confirmation. "How bad is it?"

Caius' voice was much tighter when he responded. " _He passed a half an hour ago."_

Bending at the waist and lowering his chin to his chest, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. "We'll be home this evening."

" _I will meet you at the hanger. Take care of her."_

Nodding as he picked his head up, he glanced at his grandmother. "I will. See you soon." Hanging up, he took a moment, and cleared his throat as he stood. "Forgive us, Yiayia, but we won't be able to stay for supper."

Setting the knife in her hand down, she wiped her hands on her apron. "Demetri? What happened?"

Drumming his fingers on the tabletop, he sighed. "Did I tell you how I met Isabella?" When she shook her head with a 'no', Demetri crossed his arms. "I met her at her parent's wake just about three months ago. Car accident. Her father died on impact, her mother a few minutes later. Her royal blood came from her mother."

She nodded at the statement. "Dora. I know of Her Majesty. Your mother talked about her all the time. They were very close. I met the family once, if you remember."

He reached up and scratched the side of his nose and cleared his throat again. "Aro died, about a half hour ago."

With a quiet gasp, she covered her mouth. "He's so young."

Plucking Bella's purse off the back of the chair it hung on, he slipped her phone inside. "He was sick; cancer. He had been given a year nearly a year ago. It's why Isabella and I married so quickly. She wanted to make sure he could be there."

Lowering her hand to her chest, she sighed. "That poor child. So much loss, in so little time." Walking across her kitchen, she pulled open a cupboard door of the Baker's rack and pulled out a box that was sitting inside. Closing the distance to her grandson, she held it out to him, her eyes sad. "Not now, but when she's ready, you give this to her."

With a small smile, Demetri shook his head at the offering, dipped his head, and pressed his lips to her cheek. "I'm sure she would much rather receive it from you. While I can only assume the next month will be nothing short of Hell on Earth, I'll bring her back after her coronation. You can give it to her then."


	16. Chapter 16

As the wheels of his jet touched down on the runway, Demetri glanced over to his wife, a frown on his face. She hadn't said much said he retrieved her from the garden at his grandmother's. She didn't talk the entire drive to the estate they had spent their honeymoon at. She didn't even get out of the car when he went to gather their belongings. The trip to the airport and the fight back was made in complete silence, but it wasn't the quiet that he was worried about. What concerned him was she hadn't shed a tear. Her eyes were dry when he saw her the first time after he said his farewell to Yiayia. They were just distant and unfocused as she stared off into space.

Because they were returning after dark, the guards that had taken a different flight to Greece were onboard with them this time, and the corner of Demetri's lip curled when his eyes landed on the one that decided to catch a show on their first day there. He would absolutely still get that son of a bitch. He just had to figure out what he was going to do to him first.

Climbing out of his seat when allowed, he sighed as he set a hand on Bella's shoulder. "Tessoro."

There was a harder sigh from Bella as she lowered her eyes from the window to the table in front of her. They remained there for a long moment before she flicked them to Demetri's. "How do you get to be so numb you can't even cry? For the last five and a half hours I've been trying to squeeze out just a single tear, and there's nothing. Did I use too many for my parents that I just don't have any left for him?"

Wasn't that a heart breakingly phrased question, and one that took Demetri completely off sat with it for a moment, but under the weight of the emotions in his wife's eyes, Demetri was left with little in the way of words and just shook his head as he crouched down next to her seat. "I don't know, Amore." Turning to look at the door when it was opened, he clicked his tongue before looking back. "Do you need a moment?"

Even though she said no, she took a few before taking Demetri's hand when he held it to her to help her stand. She laid her cheek against his chest when he pulled her to him, and closed her eyes when his arms wrapped around her shoulders. Despite her question, truth be told, she honestly didn't know if she really was fighting to cry or actually fighting against it.

Opening her eyes, she looked over Demetri's arm to the open door, knowing what was lying on the other side, and her guy tightened. For the moment, though, it was really the least of her worries. "I can't even mourn him. Between funeral arrangements, the actual funeral, planning a ball, and the coronation, I don't have time. Uncle Aro was really is thirty hours of work a day and not that many to be found."

Tightening his arms and holding her closer, Demetri lowered his head and spoke into her hair. "Let the monkeys deal with it." The noise that came out of his wife was a cross between a snort, a scoff, and a choked sob as her hands closed into fists on his shirt. Giving her a squeeze, he unwrapped his arms, pushing her back slightly and kissing her forehead. "Are you ready?"

Though she swallowed hard, she nodded, bracing herself for the flash storm she knew was about to happen. However, to her great shock, when Demetri moved from her view of the tarmac, there was not a single camera in sight. "That's... odd." Looking down at Demetri when he looked back at her, her brows drew down. "There's no press."

Turning back, Demetri's eyes followed the path made by the lines that consisted of a total of 36 guards that led to a black SUV where Caius stood leaning against the side. Stopping at the bottom of the steps, he used his head to point. "Could that be the reason?"

Glancing up to where she was indicated to look, Bella wrapped her arms around her stomach with a noise in her throat. "That is very likely."

Waiting for Bella to be next to him, his set his hand on the small of her back, but his attention was on the faces he had never seen before. "I don't remember so many guards."

Bella didn't look up from the runner, the explanation rolling off her tongue in a nearly robotic tone. "You've only ever seen the palace's guards. This is the Royal Guard. Their job is to protect the Crown itself. They were Uncle Aro's, but they don't need to protect him anymore."

Looking up to the stars in the sky, Demetri had to fight to swallow the growl in his throat. He had enough of an issue with the palace guards, and now there was a fucking army to deal with? He knew it was wrong of him, but he could not stop himself from wandering briefly if he had any power to disband the army of guards, or at least lessen the number, once he was king.

It was almost as if Caius could ready Demetri's thoughts as they approached. There was no emotion on his face, but he looked Demetri dead in the eyes and crossed his arms. "No."

Demetri was able to look away before Bella caught the look on his face, but gave a subtle nod in response.

Not knowing, or caring, what that was about, Bella pulled away from Demetri and pressed herself into her uncle's embrace when he opened his arms to her. The tears stuck in her eyes were fully present in her voice. "I am so sorry, Uncle Caius."

Rubbing her back and petting her hair, Caius set his chin on the crown of her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Stella. You lost him, too."

Finally, there was a sniffle from the princess. "I wasn't here."

Pulling back, Caius cupped her face in his hands, his head tilting to the side. "And what could you have done if you had been? Aro was sick, and has been for a long time."

Though her eyes itched and her throat was tight, she still didn't cry. "He should have had more time."

While he didn't completely disagree, Caius sighed. "We only get so much, My Dear, and that is rarely our decision. Take solis in that he no longer suffers. I know that is not a lot, and not nearly good enough, but that's all you can do." When she nodded, he opened the door of the car for her as was customary. Saying nothing, he held out a hand when Demetri took a step forward. He didn't close the door until it clicked, but he did close it, and turned his sights on his niece's husband. "Has she cried yet?"

Crossing his arms, Demetri shook his head with a sigh. "Not yet."

"Cazzo." Running a hand down his face, Caius licked his lips. "It is sure to be a spectacular show when she finally does."

Lip curling in the corner, Demetri's eyes narrowed. "Not exactly the word I would have chosen, My Lord."

For the first time since his brother's body was discovered in his bed, a look of amusement flitted across Caius' face. "My Lord?" A slightly sinister sounding chuckle left his lips. "That's a habit you might consider breaking, Demetri."

Eyes narrowing further, Demetri's tone became clipped. "I think not. I married a royal. You were born one."

Caius' amusement was not gone. "You think that matters?"

"A great deal, actually."

Crossing his own arms, Caius chuckled again. "You realize you'll be King in a month, yes?" When all Demetri did was shrug, Caius' eyes widened. "You have no idea, do you?"

Becoming slightly unnerved by the gleam in Caius' eyes, Demetri leaned back slightly. "About what?"

Caius shook his head with a grunt. "Aro always was a bastard."

Rearing back from the statement, Demetri cleared his throat. "Not to sound unkind, Lord Caius, but he did only just pass. Shouldn't there be at least a day's grace before speaking ill of him?"

Flicking his dark eyes back to Demetri's, Caius sighed as he reopened the back door. "I believe, Demetri, there is something you should see upon our return to the palace."

A sense of foreboding settled in Demetri's stomach at the statement, and it only grew as they drew closer to the city. After seeing his wife inside, he told her he would be along in a few minutes as Caius led him in the opposite direction. He was taken to Aro's office, where Marcus sat behind the desk that was covered in paperwork.

Bowing his head to Marcus, Demetri bit his lip as he reached out and took the paper he was presented upon Caius' request to show him. Without his reading glasses he had to squint slightly to read what he was handed. It took him a few moments, and reread, for him to wrap his mind around what he was holding. Not to the surprise of Caius, but mildly so to that of Marcus, the first thing to come out of Demetri's mouth when he found his voice was, "That... bastard."

With a snort, Caius crossed his arms and took a seat in front of Aro's desk. "So, we seem to be in agreement."

Eyes wide and lips parted, Demetri tossed the Decree of Succession back on the desk with a hard shake of his head. "On my life, My Lords, I had no idea."

Caius merely leaned back in his seat, his ankle settling on his knee. "You can swear on whatever you want, Demetri. It's not going to make us believe you any less. Though, very likely, it will also not make Isabella believe you any more."

Dropping hard into the open chair, Demetri actually slouched as he covered his face with one hand. "Fuuuuuck." With his eyes closed, he scratched his forehead, his voice drawn. "What am I going to do?" Opening his eyes, he looked at Marcus. "When did he even name me Secondary Successor?"

Marcus could do nothing but lift a shoulder. "This is the only will we have access to. It could have been when you were a child. Or when you came of age. It also could have been when he was diagnosed, or at any point since. There is no way know. As for Isabella, simply be honest with her about it. It's clear you didn't know, Demetri. She cannot hold what you didn't know against you."

Demetri's face remained flat as he looked at Marcus. "She's going to pissed off enough when she finds I knew about Aro being sick before she did, so if she thought I knew about this as well and didn't tell her, she certainly could, and she would have every right to."

Blinking, Caius' lip curled. "Would didn't you tell her that?"

Turning to face him, Demetri's expression didn't change. "I found out the day she buried her parents. What was I to do? Not only ensure she went down the same path I did when my parents died, but have a hand in it as well? Absolutely not. Besides, he told me not to, that he would when she needed to know. Had I known it would come about the way it did, I certainly would have. No one deserves to find out as she did."

Leaning back in his seat, Marcus laced his fingers over his stomach and hummed in his throat. "You did not have had a say. You were raised not to disobey the King when specifically told not to do something. As for the Decree, either for or against, at no point would it have been your decision. It was Aro's, and I am sure he had his reasons for doing so. Besides, it's Secondary Successor. It only would have mattered had Isabella not have wed, or had an announced prospect of doing so before his passing. It means very little anymore since she's married... to you, making the entire point moot, anyway." His eyes then shifted. "Do you understand that, Isabella?"

Though Demetri gulped, he did turn to watch as his wife stepped from the shadows and into the doorway.

Leaning back against the trim of the door, Bella sighed as she looked to the ceiling, giving herself a moment before she looked in the office itself. She looked first at Caius, then Marcus, before finally looking at Demetri. "I knew about the decree. I saw it a couple of weeks before the wedding. It was sitting on the desk when I came in looking for something, and I asked Uncle Aro about it." She paused, letting out a sigh as she ran the tip of her tongue along her lip before nodding to the paper on the desk. "That was filled out the day we came and talked to him after I found out about the law. He was having a very hard time breathing that day, and after he signed the betrothal paperwork, he named you his legal Secondary Successor because he didn't know at that point if he would live long enough to make the official announcement."

Caius looked back and forth between his niece and Demetri, taking in their matching looks of irritation with the other over keeping such importing things from the other. In Isabella's case, it was finding out Demetri knew Aro was sick. In Demetri's, it was finding out Isabella knew he was named Successor. Only one of them really had grounds to be irritated with the other, though.

The entire country knew Aro was sick, though not necessarily to the extent. Isabella was only in the dark about the nature of Aro's illness because she hadn't lived in Italy at the time. Demetri, on the other hand, had just been completely blindsided, and that was far less fair.

Lifting a hand, he pointed to each of them in turn. "You two cannot do this. While you agreed to it, your marriage is little more than an arranged betrothal, and because of that, you have very little ground under your feet on which to build your life. Neither one of you can keep such monumental things from the other. It will do nothing but lead to anger, which can only grow into resentment and hate. I have never been married, but I can only assume such emotions for your spouse is not a good thing."

Looking his niece dead in the eyes. "It was not Demetri's place to inform you of Aro's illness. It was Aro's." Jutting his chin to Demetri', "I fully understand it is easier to be angry at him than it is to be angry with your uncle, but you are no better in this scenario, Stella. What you kept to yourself was worse. You set your husband up to look to us as a piece of garbage that cared little for you and only that he would do anything necessary to get his hands on our crown. Is that a fair trade off because he did as told and didn't tell you what someone else should have? Were you worried had Demetri found out about the Decree he would have not gone through with the marriage? Merely waited until Aro passed and taken his legally bound place as king? Were you out for vengeance over his knowledge so you kept this to yourself to put him in the position you have by keeping your silence?"

Rearing back, Isabella blinked at her uncle, hearing Demetri attempt to come to her rescue, but cut off by Caius' hand in his face. Put on the spot like she was, Bella shook her head hard. "Of course not. I didn't even know he knew Uncle Aro was sick."

Caius cocked his head. "Then what are you angry about? You are barely 19. Demetri is a blink past his twenty second birthday. You two have a very long life ahead of you to get pissed off at each other over your own doings. Don't waste your time being angry over someone else's. What's done is done, but you, Stella, must remember you have only just started living as a royal, and have no idea about the inner workings of the monarchy."

Reaching over and picking up the paperwork, he pointed to Aro's signature on the bottom. "The moment Aro signed his name," pointing to Demetri, "he took all future choices away from him. Demetri will die as king. Even should you two divorce, he will remain in power."

All Isabella did was grunt. "Which is another really stupid law, by the way."

Caius merely shrugged as he handed the degree back to Marcus. "I know you're not a fan, but our laws are in place for a very good reason. Had they not been, Aro's ex-wife and her bastard son would be sitting on the throne currently. You have to remember Isabella, you are the first female to ascend to the throne. Prior to you, there has always been a male heir, so there was never a reason to have protections against the exchange of power when a woman was the royal."

A smirk then pulled at Caius' lips. "This is getting much easier to say, today. Aro was a bastard, however he was not without his brilliance. He chose the man you had already chosen yourself as Successor to the throne, didn't tell him, so that either way it went, the two of you would still take over upon his death. It seems to me to be an insurance policy on his part. However, it's all basically irrelevant unless you two cannot get over and move past someone else's nonsense. Only then does a Willed Successor come into play."

Standing from his chair, Marcus following suit, Caius paused before he and his brother left the office to allow the kids to work their shit out. Looking down at his niece, he clasped his arms behind his back. "There is one more thing for you to remember, Isabella." When she glanced up at him, he looked back at Demetri for a moment before locking his eyes on hers. "Even with the consent contract Demetri signed, you are no longer a Volturi. You are a De Luca now."

Watching after her uncles as they left the room, Bella closed her eyes and sighed before she turned back to Aro's office. Demetri wasn't even looking her direction anymore. He was facing the window, still slouched in his chair, but his feet kicked up on the desk and crossed at the ankle. He was propped up by his elbow on the arm, his thumb under his chin and two fingers pressed to his temple.

Crossing her arms, Bella looked down, and licked her lips. "Well, this sucks."

Still not turning to look back at her, Demetri kept his eyes forward, his voice level. "And what's that, Tessoro?"

Looking up at the ceiling, she swallowed hard. "We had... such, a good vacation." Scratching her temple, she crossed the room and plopped down in the other chair, draping her hands over either arm and stretching her legs out in front of her. She looked at the front of the desk, and cleared her throat. "I'm not in the mood to fight."

Remaining silent for a moment, Demetri dropped his arm, and clicked his tongue. "Marvelous, because I have no intention to."

Chancing a glance at Demetri's profile, Bella bit her lip. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the decree."

With a quiet snort, Demetri dropped his head back, facing up at the ceiling, his eyes moving side to side. "Sounds like it hardly would have mattered if you did or not." Rolling his head along the back of his chair, he sighed. "I told you before we started planning the wedding, even before we met that odd little oompa loompa, I have no ulterior motives here, Tessoro. I don't want your crown. I have no desire, whatsoever, to live even more in the eyes of the public than I already do."

Looking at him through her lashes, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Then why agree to marry a princess knowing both were part of the deal?"

Isabella didn't think Demetri's face could get anymore emotionless, but he surprised her. He looked at her like she was an idiot. His voice and words backed it up, too. "Don't act stupid, My Dearest. It doesn't become you. The day you showed up at my house in the middle of that storm, I was already in love with you, and would have done anything you asked of me. You must know that by now."

She did; he told her as much during their honeymoon, though worded differently. Rubbing the back of her neck, she grunted quietly. "So, are you mad I didn't tell you?"

Running a hand down his face, Demetri then sat up, putting one foot on the ground and crossing the other over his knee. "I'm not going to lie, Izzy; I'm irritated." Taking his chin between this thumb and forefinger, he looked at his wife, and was quick to put her at ease. "I don't know how... to take this, if I'm honest. I knew what I was getting into when agreed to your proposal. This?" Pointing at the paper on the desk, "That pisses me off. That I did not agree to, and to have absolutely no say in it? To not be even be informed, at all, during any of the numerous conversations I had with Aro prior to the wedding?" Shaking his head and he dropped hard against the back of his seat, he crossed one arm over his chest and covered his face with the other as his leg began to bounce. "I'm irritated. Not with you personally, of course; just with the general situation."

Remaining quiet for a moment, Isabella stood from her seat and moved over to Demetri, slowly lowering herself in his lap. He responded by adjusting his position and wrapping his arms around her, laying his head against hers when she laid it on his shoulder.

Rubbing her cheek against his shirt, she sighed to herself. "I wanna go back to yesterday."

There was a snort from Demetri. "Wouldn't that be a feat, My Love?"

Lifting her eyes, she looked at his jaw that blocked her view of Demetri's face. "We can't even pretend the last hour didn't happen, can we?"

Lifting his head, Demetri rolled it on his shoulders in thought. "I'm sure we could. I'm just not sure it's for the best." Clicking his tongue, he then shifted he weight so he could look at Isabella's face. "I am curious, though." He paused, and only continued when he was looking into his wife's green eyes. "What else weren't we told?"

Slowly, Bella sat up, turning to look at Demetri with parted lips, wide eyes, and a look a pure horror on her face. She just stared at him for a moment before she shook her head. "You have to stop doing that."

Demetri just looked back at her with a cocked brow. "Doing what?"

Jumping off his lap, Bella waved her arms. "Putting shit like that out in the universe." Clapping her hands together, she laced her fingers in front of her lips. "Damn it, Demetri, don't you remember what came after 'how bad could it be'?"

He remained staring at Isabella, saying nothing as he thought about what he was talking about. Then he remembered Alice Brandon came after it. Closing his eyes with a grunt, he leaned forward and ran a hand through his hair. "Cazzo."


	17. Chapter 17

The first 48 hours after arriving home from their honeymoon found Isabella scouting out different, unused rooms of the palace, trying to decide which one she was going to take over as her own office. She knew she was allowed to redesign Aro's, but she couldn't do it. After that first day, she couldn't even bring herself to go near it much less talk to someone about changing anything.

She did, however, bring in a contractor to discuss the ideas she had for her and Demetri's bedroom. Just like with the office situation, she was more than within tradition to move from the West wing to the East where the rest of the family resided, but again, she couldn't imagine doing anything to Aro's chambers to make it hers. That, however, had very little to do with anything other than the fact that was the room he died in. He was found pretty quickly, but that didn't change the fact he took his last breath in that room, and she wanted less to do with that place than his office.

She also found out who that Paula woman that called her was. She was the boss of the homecare nurse hired to care for Aro four days after she and Demetri left on their honeymoon, and ten days before he died. Isabella, though, was the last number on the list of people to contact under those circumstances. The princess was only to be called in the event that both of his brothers were unable to be reached. Since both of them were home, there was never any reason to call Isabella, and something Marcus was very, very quick to point out.

Both he and Caius remembered very well what their niece looked like when they showed up at the hospital after she called them about the death of their baby sister and brother-in-law. They tried every which way they could think of to shield their niece from having a stranger once again overturning her life, but royals or not, that didn't mean they weren't bound to following the rules of a private company, and that private company required a certain number of emergency contact numbers. The only reason her number was even on that paperwork was because they had to provide three points of contact, but none of the three thought to ask Demetri for his number to act as a buffer. Then again, they also didn't expect Aro to pass away in the two weeks the couple was gone, either.

Isabella didn't begrudge her uncles for providing her cell number. She did kind of dislike Paula, though.

Demetri, on the other hand, had no aversion to not just going in Aro's office, but he didn't harbor one going through it, either. He completely understood his wife's stance on entering that particular room, but he also understood someone had to do it. There was very little in the way of things that were going to be removed because he knew Izzy wouldn't always feel the way she did, but there was no chance there wasn't a stack of paperwork that would need to be gone over. The room he used back at his house had at one time been his father's home office, and it would only be a matter of time before Izzy realized why Aro used the room he did.

Aro had been the one to go through Matteo's office, looking for all pertinent paperwork necessary to continue to run his company until Demetri was in the position to do so if he chose to. In a way, it felt to Demetri that he was returning the favor. Since the only thing Marcus had taken was Aro's will, Demetri knew somewhere in Aro's desk or files was everything Izzy was going to need to run her lands.

It was while he was reading over the contract he signed but hadn't read there was a knock on the door trim, pulling his attention from the document, over the brim of his reading glasses, to Marcus. It's not that he didn't believe Izzy when she gave him the rundown on their wedding day, but with so many other things popping up in the last couple of days that were less than ideal, he wanted to make sure there wasn't anything in the fine print he didn't read and Bella didn't know.

Marcus regarded the young man a moment before he said anything, and when he did, it was with a thoughtful tone. "It has certainly been an eventful few months, hasn't it?" He watched as Demetri leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, but when the young Master remained silent, he continued. "I've watched you traverse a great many obstacles so carelessly thrown in your life's path since my sister's death. All of which, including marriage, you've taken in admirale stride."

When Marcus didn't say anything more for a time, Demetri removed his glasses, tossing them and the contract in his hand on the desk, and crossed his arms. "Was there a question, Lord Marcus? I'm a little busy right at the moment."

Marcus slowly shook his head as he made his way into the room, taking a seat and lacing his fingers over his stomach. "You've known Aro nearly your whole life. Your mother was my sister's best friend, so I know you had a relationship with her as well. You're as connected to this family as any of us are."

Having a slight idea where Marcus was going with his words, Demetri licked his lips and cleared his throat. "Athenodora and Charles Swan were not my parents, nor my sister and in-law. The king was not my uncle nor my brother. Were they like family?" Pausing a moment, he rolled his head on his shoulders before speaking. "I suppose. Do I mourn them like family? Only to a point because they weren't family. I'll ask you to forgive me for this is going to sound Master Marcus, but for as tragic and devastating as their deaths are to you, Lord Caius, and Izzy, to me?" Uncrossing his arms and leaning forward, he tapped his finger on the desktop and lowered his voice. "To me they aren't quite on par with the deaths of my actual family."

Marcus watched his brows slightly lifted and fell on his forehead as Demetri leaned back in his seat and recrossed his arms. There was a slight level of challenge in the action, but not enough to be disrespectful; even under the circumstances. It was a very good point on his part. As far as deaths went, there were going to be very few that affected Demetri to such a large degree as the death of his parents.

Shifting his shoulders slightly, Demetri once against cleared his throat as his lips turned down in the corners. "As far as taking things in stride... I don't see it that way. I haven't done anything in the last few months I didn't want to, and that includes mine and Izzy's marriage. As far as that goes, several times between her showing up at my house in the middle of a storm she had no business driving in and the day we said our I dos, Izzy tried to talk me out of it. I didn't take that in stride. I actually took the situation very seriously. I'm sure it seems like I agreed with very little thought, but I can assure you, that wasn't the case. I indulged her every time she tried to make it very clear I didn't have to, but what she didn't know... or I suppose more to the point what _you_ didn't know, was by the time she showed up at my house that night, I was already head over heels for her. I was already making plans to ask her to marry me."

Once again he changed his position, leaning on his elbows on the desk, lacing his fingers together and setting his chin on his knuckles. He remained quiet for about a minute before he dropped his arms across the glossy woods and shook his head. "I haven't taken any of this stride, Master Marcus, but right now, my wife needs my strength because she doesn't have any. If that means I have to put off mourning family friends so she can mourn her family... then it means putting off mourning family friends so my wife can mourn her family." Sliding back, he then slouched in his chair, his arms dropping from the desk to the armrests. "The only thing I'm taking in stride," cocking his head to the side, eyes narrowing in thought, "ever taken in stride actually... is Izzy's moodswings."

There was a halfhearted chuckle from Marcus at the last statement. His niece had certainly had her fair share of those in recent weeks, and from what he had seen, Demetri had been on the receiving end of many of them. It wasn't done with malicious intent on Isabella's part, and that was clear enough. A small smile pulled at Marcus' lips. "Isabella certainly does have a very short fuse these days, doesn't she? With everything that has happened in such a short amount of time, on top of situational stresses that have happened and the ones that will be happening, I'm afraid that is not likely to change much."

Demetri merely shrugged. "She's entitled to it, I think. She's been through a lot. Besides..." A wide smirk split his lips and his eyes sparked. "She's super hot when she's angry."

Left with else to do but grunt at the statement, Marcus cleared his throat as he stood from his seat. "And on that note, Young Master, I believe I will leave you to your reading."

Unable to help it, Demetri chuckled as he reached to pick up his glasses and the contract he had been reading. After a short pause, though, he looked back up. "Marcus..." Swallowing thickly as Marcus looked back at him, he then licked his lips. "I don't know if I ever said it to you or not but, I am sorry for the loss of your brother and sister. I don't know what it's like to lose a sibling. I never had any, but I..." Stopping and clearing his throat, "I am, truly, sorry for your loss and if there is ever anything I can do..."

Marcus held up a hand, and Demetri obediently closed his mouth. With his hands clasped in front of his thighs, Marcus clicked his tongue. "The only thing I will ever need you do to, My Boy, is to take care of my niece. If you do that, I will never ask anything else of you."

There was an uncomfortable shift in the air, at least for Demetri. He had never been very good at having these kind of conversations with other guys. It was generally something he went out of his way to avoid, but even though his discomfort with more emotional aspects of the conversation was noticeable, he just cleared his throat and pushed through. "I'm trying. It's not so easy when there are so many... unavoidable responsibilities in such a short amount of time."

Marcus regarded the young man before him, a small, unseen smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He certainly wasn't taking any measure of pleasure from Demetri's clear discomfort, but it was, for him, nice to see the man wasn't as robotic as he portrayed himself to be in the face of overly stressful situations. He could command a boardroom in a way that made any seasoned businessman weep with jealousy, but put him in front of his slightly withdrawn, upset wife and Demetri nearly crumbled, choosing to hide with paperwork. Paperwork was predictable, mundane. Isabella would never be described as such, and he was still learning how to counteract her more unpredictable nature.

Nodding slightly, Marcus hummed. "I know, Demetri. You two have a great many things working against you, still getting to know each other notwithstanding. However, I have no doubt you will figure this out." Before leaving the room, Marcus looked over his shoulder. "If I may, one thing to remember, Young Master, is while you might still be learning how Isabella ticks, there are some that already know."

Leaning back in his chair, Demetri cocked his own head to the side as he watched Marcus leave. Eyes shifting from the door to his cell phone sitting on the desk, he licked his lips as he reached for it. Flipping it open, he scrolled through his contacts until he found who he was looking for. Glancing at the clock, he grunted. He learned very well what the time difference was having been woken up on numerous occasions, but with a sigh, he hit send anyway.

Bringing his phone to his ear, he waited, counting the rings. After four, he assumed he would be leaving a message, but to his surprise, he heard a sleep thick, annoyed voice say hello. Scratching the tip of his nose, he spoke. "Hello Rosilie. This is Demetri.

The annoyance was only slightly lessened. " _Do you have any idea what time it is here, you fucker?"_

Unable to fully keep his amusement at being called a fucker from his voice, Demetri sat back in his seat, and crossed the arm that wasn't holding his phone over his chest. "I do, actually. I apologize for waking you up, but I need your help."

He heard the sound of shuffling, and there was a little more life to Rose's voice when she spoke again. " _She's not handing Aro's death very well, is she?"_

Shaking his head, Demetri lowered his voice, knowing his little wife loved to pop out of the damn woodwork when she was the topic of conversation. "No, she's not. After her parents died, she had a million things to keep her mind otherwise occupied. School, the reporters, the move across the Atlantic, the wedding, the honeymoon. A million other things she doesn't currently have, so she's creating them. Currently, she's working on a remodel of the West Wing. It's easier for her to focus on that because if she's focused on that, she can pretend this hasn't happened. The fact remains, however, he will be buried in four days time, whether she wants to face it or not." Pausing long enough to clear his throat, he sighed. "I can handle every last responsibility she doesn't want to. That's easy. I can literally do it in my sleep but, when it comes to her, I am afraid I'm... at a loss."

There was nothing from the other side of the phone for several moments, and when Rose did come back through, she didn't sound like she had any more of an idea what to do than he did. " _Do you want me to call her? I've wanted to, I just wasn't sure what to say to her."_

"Actually, I had hoped to somehow convince you to come in person. She needs someone, and truth be told, you're far better suited to be that someone than I am."

Rosalie couldn't hide her shock at the admission. " _That... couldn't have been easy for you to say."_

Demetri once again shook his head as he stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles. "Actually, it was quite simple. I might be a prideful man, Rosalie, but I am not so prideful as to think my position as her husband trumps yours as her best friend."

At the statement, there was chuckle. " _Smart man. So what's your plan here?"_

Closing his eyes, Demetri clicked his tongue a few times. "I don't know, but I'll have it figured out by the time you get here." Opening his eyes, he began rocking slightly in his chair. "I want it to be a surprise for her, so I'll be sending my jet to collect you. That will give you roughly sixteen hours to sort your own affairs."

He heard her hum. " _Should be doable. How long of a stay were you thinking?"_

"A couple of weeks if at all possible. After the funeral, I'll be at my house packing up some things, so I won't be here at all for a few days, possibly up to a week, and I cannot take her because she has her own things she must do during that time. I would really prefer her not to be alone while I'm gone. That said, you know you are welcome to stay as long as you'd like. You are also welcome to bring Emmett if you'd like, of course. I'm sure she would very much love for you two to attend the coronation next month."

" _He would have to come by himself next week. He's out of town on business until then. Um... Oh, you know who I could probably talk into coming? Tonya."_

Demetri's brow drew down at the unknown name. "I'm sorry... who?"

" _Gazelle."_

That rang a bell. "Ah, yes... the other bride's maid." At Rose's 'uh huh', Demetri nodded. "I don't see any issue with that." Then, an idea popped into his head. "My jet seats ten. One will be taken by a second pilot to share the round trip flight. One will be taken by you. You have 8 more seats you can fill, and I will take care of all travel and accommodation expenses. I trust you to only bring those that will actually help Izzy. I won't have her more upset than she is."

There was a lot more life to Rose's voice when she responded. " _Holy shit, are you serious?"_ At Demetri's confirmation, she continued. " _Since it's like... 3 in the morning here, I'll make some calls later to find out and text you how many are able to come. Though, I don't think anyone will be able to take almost a full month off work. And what about the funeral? I don't know how it is there, but here, those are normally just for family and very close friends."_

Looking at his nails, Demetri shrugged. "I said I would take care of all travel expenses, and I meant it. That would also include return flights. For the funeral, the night before there will ball in Aro's honor that you will all be more than welcome to attend. The church service is open to the public, so you and your friends will be allowed entrance to that, but not the cemetery. That is private and only for family. However, I am more than positive my friends can keep you and your friends entertained while Izzy is at the burial, and any that don't want to attend the funeral service. So far as I know, most of them don't plan on attending the funeral, but will remain in the city after the ball."

" _Alright. Well, I'm gonna go back to sleep, and I'll get back with you in a few of hours."_ After their farewells, but before she hung up, Rose offered one last piece of, hopefully, helpful advice. " _Ya know, Demetri, it's not like the responsibilities are going anywhere. They'll still be there tomorrow."_

Looking at his phone when there was a click, Demetri chuckled. "So very subtile, Rosalie."


End file.
